


The Enemy Ahead

by codenametargeter



Series: We Rise and We Fall and We Break [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: "I hate you." "I know.", Alternate Universe, Commandant Hux is a dick, Hux is So Done, Leia Organa is better than you, Light Side AU, M/M, Slow Burn, The Skywalker Genes bred true with Ben, This fic is super indebted to Bloodline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-06-05 18:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 49,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6715690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/codenametargeter/pseuds/codenametargeter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To get away from the influence of his father, Hux defected from the First Order when he was 17 years old. Now, years later and a Major in the New Republic Fleet, he still can't outrun his First Order past. Fed up with the New Republic's unwillingness to act, Senator Leia Organa and General Tycho Celchu have given him a secret mission to find indisputable proof that the First Order is out there waiting to strike. The only problem? They're also sending Jedi Knight Ben Organa Solo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic idea started because of two things. 1) I have a thing for the Generals talking/talking about each other. 2) All the light side Ben Organa Solo art in the Kylux tag was getting to me. Essentially, this was a challenge for me as a writer to see if I could write a light side Hux who's still recognizable as, well, Hux. I leave that up to all of you to say how I've done. Also I just really love this dumpster and everyone in it.
> 
> Thank you/apologies to Hamilton for once again stealing their lyrics to name my fics. Like most folks, I live for comments and if anyone wants to come yell with me about these two First Order assholes, I'm chaosbria on tumblr.

The fact that his father was not a nice person was not news to Brendol Hux II. He'd been well aware of said fact since he was a child and nothing that the man had done over the subsequent years changed his impression. But still, he did everything expected of him. He enrolled in the relatively small First Order Academy when he was 10, excelling in all of his classes and never taking advantage of his family name. He wanted to be the best and to do it on his own terms.

By the time he was 15, two things were readily apparent. First, all of his instructors agreed that he had an affinity for strategy and tactics, one that would help him rise rapidly through the ranks on merit once he was an officially commissioned officer. Second, he determined that he had no interest in continuing to be the obedient son and that his talents were better utilized than in support of a group that refused to admit that it had been decidedly beaten. Or at least the latter part was what he told himself. Mostly he just wanted to stick it to the asshole.

It wasn’t until he was 17 that Hux finally found the opportunity to leave it all behind. He left a scathing note for his father, stole an Imperial shuttle, and left the First Order, never looking back. It was hardly a friendly landing party that greeted him in the New Republic docking bay as he walked down the entrance ramp slowly, hands in the air. “You’ll have to forgive me for not knowing the proper protocol for defecting. I’ve never had the opportunity before.”

He hadn’t expected the warmest welcome but he also hadn’t expected to be shoved into a detention center and interrogated. Not that the New Republic would ever refer to it as interrogation, of course, but what else could days of questioning be called? It was three days of the same questions over and over from different people. He wasn't stupid; he knew what was going on. They were fact checking what they could and waiting to see if he'd slip up and change his answers from day to day. It was all part of an elaborate plot that a toddler could have seen through to determine whether or not he was a First Order infiltrator. 

It had been an effort but Hux had forced himself slouch somewhere in the middle of day one. Years of being, well, a Hux had made military posture the norm and anything else felt odd. Given the haphazard nature of the Rebel Alliance, he suspected that they would interpret it as evidence in favor of their theory that he was a spy and so he let himself slump, shoulders rounding. He could almost feel the disapproving look his mother would be giving him and hear the sharp rebuke from his father.

The interview room hissed open for at least the fourth time that third day and he raised an eyebrow, mildly curious to see who they’d send to be his latest interrogator. All it took was a fraction of a second for Hux to sit up straight again, eyes widening with surprise.

Leia Organa gave him the barest hint of a smile. "Good. You know who I am."

"It would be impossible not to, your Highness," Hux replied respectfully. "I'm sorry, I don't actually know what your proper form of address is anymore..."

"Most people just call me Senator nowadays," Leia said, taking the seat across from him, "Although I do still get the occasional 'commander' or 'princess' from those who fought with me in the Alliance. But how about we do away with formalities for now and you just call me Leia?"

"Yes ma'am." 

His reply was instinctive and not in the least bit sarcastic but it still got an amused eyebrow raise out of her. "Why don't you tell me about yourself, Brendol?"

The corners of his mouth twitched downwards at the use of his given name. "It should all be in the transcripts. Multiple times."

"Let's assume that I haven't read those."

Hux leaned back and spread his hands. "There's not much to tell. I was born after the first Death Star was destroyed. My parents are Brendol and Elana Hux. Yes, that Commandant Brendol Hux although someone put an admiral’s rank bars on him for some absurd reason. I have a younger brother and a younger sister. My family went with the rest of the Imperial Remnant into the Unknown Regions after Jakku. I've been groomed since I was a small child to enter the Imperial navy. I decided several years ago that I didn't particularly feel like supporting my father's lost cause of a war and took the first solid opportunity that presented itself to leave. I stole a ship and now I've been here for three days, answering the same questions, and contemplating whether or not I should have just gone to the first civilized planet in my flight path instead of formally defecting."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because this was the best way I knew to infuriate the Admiral."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "You're not terribly fond of your father, are you?"

"And here I thought I was being so subtle about it."

With a tilt of her head, she simply stared at him for a long moment before saying, “Some of our Intelligence officers who interviewed you have expressed a concern that this is all an act.”

“Which part?”

“Well, all of it but particularly your dislike for your father. They suspect it's a ploy to gain sympathy.”

Hux clenched his jaw. "If I was trying to sell you a sob story, I'd do a better job of it." She didn't say anything, only raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "I could tell you that he was verbally abusive to anyone in his path who didn't comply to his standards of excellence. I could tell you that I physically put myself in between him and my siblings more than once or how anything less than perfection was treated as a failure. And then I could top it off with some bleeding heart nonsense about how I never felt loved as a child and isn't that just such a tragic story?"

Leia's silence after he finished spitting out the words was almost as unnerving as the unwavering look she was giving him. "You have a gift for biting sarcasm," she finally said.

“So I’ve been told.”

“And yet you haven’t lied to me yet.”

“Maybe I should start since the truth hasn’t gotten me out of this room.”

“That would be a bad idea.” 

He shrugged. “The truth gets boring after three days.”

“Where is the Imperial base?”

Hux was so taken back by her abrupt change of subject that he could only gape at her for a long five seconds before his jaw snapped shut again. “I don’t know.”

“Lie.”

“It’s on a ship.”

“Lie.” Leia raised an eyebrow at him. “Why are you continuing to protect them?”

“How do you know I’m lying?” Hux countered, desperately trying to change the subject.

“Half of politics is lying convincingly and learning how to spot when someone is lying to you,” she answered matter-of-factly. “My father trained me in the art of both since I was a young girl. I also have the benefit of the Force."

Hux scoffed. "The Force is just part of a bedtime story for children." Leia's only response was to levitate the pitcher of water a few inches off the table before setting it back down again. "Or so we were told."

"Does that answer your question, Brendol?"

He sighed, unable to contain his irritation anymore. "Would you stop calling me that?"

"Your name?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I hate it."

"Because you were named after your father."

"Yes."

"What name do you prefer?"

"Most people just use my surname."

"Most?"

He winced. "My mother is... insistent."

A genuine smile appeared on her face. "That I can understand. I have a son a few years younger than you." Hux didn't respond. "I have a theory about why you won't give us the Empire's location even though it would help you earn our trust. Would you like to hear it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Leia continued like she hadn't heard him. "I think that despite your feelings about your father, you love your mother and siblings very much and still feel responsible towards them. You're worried that giving up the Imperial Remnant's location may result in their deaths if the New Republic attacks." 

Her words rung far too true and his hands unconsciously curled into fists far too quickly for him to hide from her all too knowing look laced with sympathy. He glared intently at a spot on the table, indistinguishable from the rest of the silver surface. "So?"

"So that's only human, Hux. The New Republic can't fault you for that and neither do I."

"I don't want anyone's pity," he snapped angrily. "I want to get out of this room and get on with my life."

"What do you want to do with your life?" Leia asked suddenly.

Hux was completely taken back. "What?"

"When you leave here," she clarified. "What's your plan?"

"I uhhh...." He shrugged. "Enlist in the military if they'll take me, I guess. I don't know that I'd be good at anything else."

"Enlist? Why not officer's school?"

He snorted. "You must be joking." Leia shook her head. "The New Republic won't even let me out of this room. I don't think they'll give me a chance to ever command one of their ships."

"Not necessarily," Leia replied simply. "The Rebellion would have failed if we'd turned away Imperial defectors. I consider it to be a time honored tradition." 

"Fantastic." His voice dripped with every last ounce of sarcasm that he could muster. 

There was a quiet knock on the door before an aide entered, murmured a few words in Leia's ear, and left again. She looked contemplatively at a spot somewhere to the side of his head for a moment before locking eyes with him again. "Hux." Instinctively, he straightened, attitude dropping. "I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me one last time why you're here and what your intentions towards the New Republic are."

Something about this immediately felt different to him and so Hux took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before responding in a sincere and even tone. "I'm defecting because I hate my father and I'm here because I have no where else to go." As soon as he said the words, he realized how painfully true they were. 

"Are you spying for the Imperial Remnant?" she asked gently.

"No ma'am."

Silence hung between them for a few long moments before Leia pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. "Apply for the officer candidate school when you leave here, Hux. You might be surprised."

Hux's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait what?"

She gave him one of those easy, practiced smiles as she left the room. "Someone will be with you soon."

Somehow, he was now even more confused than he'd been before Senator Leia Organa had first waltzed in for his latest interrogation. He wondered if this was normal for all defectors.

Within a day, Hux found himself squinting at the bright light of the sun again and now in possession of the passcode for a small nearby apartment and a bank account with about fifteen thousand credits in it. (He'd been assured that it was the standard bounty amount for turning over an intact enemy ship.) Sitting innocently on a table in the apartment was a datapad with the standard application for the New Republic's navy along with an appointment next week for him to take the officers' tests. 

The tests turned out to be simple. Ironically enough, he knew that he had his father’s strict training to thank for that. Senator Organa Solo had sent in a letter of recommendation that the interviewer assured him was equivalent to an almost automatic acceptance. The twi’lek was surprised that Hux’s only reaction was to nod but he knew why Leia had done it. It was politics. It always came back to politics but it didn’t matter because it helped everything work out just fine.

Maybe, he thought as he signed his name at the bottom of his official enlistment papers, just maybe this would work out. And if it didn't... what else did he have to lose?


	2. Chapter 2

The first time that someone called him ‘cadet’ in the New Republic, Hux had to will himself not to flinch. The New Republic was supposed to be nothing like the First Order and yet there he was, answering to the same title.  
  
Organa had been right for the most part. The majority of his class of cadets first in boot camp and then in officer’s school either didn’t know who he was or didn’t care. A few gave him sideways glances when they thought he wasn’t looking. Some were filled with distrust and others with pure dislike. (The latter was probably because of his charming personality.)  
  
And then there was Captain Meln.  
  
Meln had fought with the Rebellion back in the day and had gone through the Imperial stormtrooper program before that. He’d been open with both of those facts since day one. He’d been almost as open with his hatred for Hux as soon as he learned the young man’s family name. Suddenly, the instructor began holding him to impossible standards, even criticizing work that most other teachers would have deemed impeccable. It took all of a week of casual digging for Hux to learn that Meln had graduated from one of the Imperial Academies long ago. Even if he hadn’t done his research, it would have been blatantly obvious soon enough.  
  
The Captain stood just outside the instruction room a little before his course was due to begin, engaged in conversation with five other cadets. Even though he preferred to keep his head down, Hux couldn’t help but overhear Meln say, “—unlike the Empire. There were stories of the Academy on Arkanis where the strongest were encouraged to murder the weaker cadets but make it look like an accident.” Hux froze, shocked to hear his father’s program spoken of there. Meln smirked at his tell. “Cadet Hux, I’m sure you know the program.”  
  
Hux pivoted sharply to face the older man. “Why would I be? The Imperial Academies were gone long before I was eligible.”  
  
“But isn’t your homeworld Arkanis?” Meln asked innocently before snapping his fingers with faked recollection. “I just remembered his name: Commandant Hux! Any relation?”  
  
The surprise and horror on his fellow cadets’ faces triggered an instinctual emotional shut down. Silently, he counted backwards from five, face blank, before saying anything. “He’s my father but you already knew that. Sir. If you’ll excuse me.”  
  
It was now perfectly clear why the instructor seemed to hold a grudge. He was being blamed for the sins of his father. The Commandant was proving impossible to outrun.  
  
Hux wasn’t even surprised when Meln tried to flunk him. When they sent him to a different instructor to retake the course, he politely asked to simply take the final examination to prove his capabilities. It solved the academic problem but not the sentient one. Inevitably, word spread. He heard the whispers in the halls and spotted more than a few distrusting looks. Really, it was to be expected. Most people weren’t the son of a man who demanded unwavering loyalty from those he deemed the best and the brightest and a blood sacrifice as proof of that loyalty. Hux considered it lucky that Meln seemed ignorant of his father’s true intentions to eventually breed the perfect generation of stormtroopers.  
  
In the end, it was his First Order training that got him through his time at the New Republic Academy. He kept his mouth shut and never acknowledged so much as hearing any of the distrust and disdain that some of his fellow cadets shot his way. Meln may have won this particular battle but Hux sure as hell wasn’t going to admit defeat and wash out.  
  
No, he decided, this was just more incentive to prove that he was so much more than his father’s son.  
  
  
~  
  
“Lieutenant Hux, come in,” General Tycho Celchu greeted him, gesturing towards the modest office’s two seats. Seeing the younger man’s stiffer-than-usual posture, he smiled. “Relax, son. You haven’t done anything wrong. I just like to meet with some of my junior officers on occasion. Those who I think have promise.” Hux acknowledged the compliment with a nod as he sat. "Your service record is certainly impressive," Celchu continued, "As are your scores in battle simulations. You've logged more time there than anyone else on board--do you ever sleep, Hux?"  
  
He almost allowed himself a smile. "I enjoy the challenge of it."  
  
"You might consider dejarik."  
  
Hux shook his head. "Dejarik is fine for strategy but I find it too simplistic to be more than a diversion."  
  
Celchu raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."  
  
"The simulators make you take more than just troop movements into account," he explained. "I have to think about ammunition and fuel supplies, acceptable losses, and the value of the target to name a few. All elements I would have to factor in during an actual battle."  
  
"I'm not sure I've ever had anyone under my command be quite so intent before."  
  
"I see no reason not to strive for perfection."  
  
The general sighed. “There’s no such thing as a perfect officer. No matter how much we wish there could be, we all have our flaws. Do you know what yours is?” Hux shook his head, sensing that he was not expected to offer a response. “You’re a good officer with a brilliant mind for tactics--”  
  
Hux bit back a pleased smile. “Thank you, sir.”  
  
Celchu held up a hand, stopping him from saying anything further. “But the problem is that you think in the abstract. Your troops are numbers and weapons to you, not people.” An amused half-smile appeared on his face for a brief moment. “Usually, we have to train people to think less with their hearts.”  
  
“I wasn’t raised to have one. Sir.”  
  
General Celchu remained silent for a moment, blue eyes studying his face. “You’re Commandant Hux’s son, correct?”  
  
Hux clenched his jaw, staring resolutely at a spot on the wall. “Unfortunately.”  
  
“I never passed through his Academy. They kept us pilots separate but he did serve as command staff during one of the earlier battles I flew in. He struck me as being a hard man.”  
  
“He was. Is.” It occurred to Hux that he really had no idea if his father was still alive. He assumed that his mother would have found a way to get word to him but there was no guarantee. Oddly enough, he didn’t really care. He pushed those thoughts aside. “I didn’t know that you’d served in the Imperial Fleet, sir.”  
  
Celchu nodded. “For two years before Alderaan happened.” Hux immediately dropped his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. There was nothing you could really say to someone who had lost his entire planet. Nothing that didn't ring false. The general leaned forward again. "But that's all ancient history. We were discussing you.”  
  
“And my genetic lack of heart.” The sarcastic words left his mouth before Hux could think better of it.  
  
“No.” Celchu’s tone was firm. “We were discussing you and ways in which you can improve as an officer and better your chances of commanding a ship one day.”  
  
Hux was completely taken back by both the tone and words. It was almost as if he… cared. No, that wasn’t quite the right word. It was almost as if Tycho Celchu seemed to have an actual interest in Hux’s career for some bizarre reason. Either way, the concept was foreign to him.  
  
“Family certainly influences who you are as a person,” Celchu continued, “but it doesn’t define who you become. That’s up to you.”  
  
Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly, trying to buy himself time to think. “What do you suggest then, sir?”  
  
“Think of your simulations as less of a game and start reminding yourself that there are people on every ship. That’s something else that makes tactical simulations more difficult than dejarik.”  
  
The words combined with a very pointed look and Hux had enough grace to drop his gaze. “Point taken, General.”  
  
A half smile crossed Celchu’s face. “Take it as a constructive one, Lieutenant. I don’t doubt that we could see you commanding your own ship one day soon.”  
  
“You’re very optimistic,” Hux said dryly.  
  
“That’s something I’ve never been accused of.” Celchu matched him in dryness, word for word. Before either one of them could say anything, the desk’s comunit beeped loudly. The general took a moment to quickly skim the message. “And with command comes the joy of dealing with every little problem that pops up. I cannot express enough how important it is to have a good aide.”  
  
Hux knew a dismissal when he heard one. Rising to his feet, he saluted smartly. “Thank you for your time and your advice, General.”  
  
Celchu returned the salute. “I look forward to seeing your next simulation scores.”  
  
~  
  
Pride. That was the word he was looking for to describe how it felt to step onboard the MC40 cruiser for the first time. It wasn't just any MC40 cruiser. It was his. His very first command.  
  
The Wavesong was oddly quietly; mostly deserted since none of her crew were required to report for another ten hours. They were scheduled for a three-month tour and everyone wanted their last few minutes of planet-side freedom but not Hux. He wanted to soak in every last moment of this. Slowly, he made his way to the bridge, letting his eyes flit around and take in every detail of the Wavesong. He'd studied the blueprints of course but there was no substitute for actually walking through the corridors. He intended to walk every last inch of the ship weekly if not more frequently. This ship, Hux resolved silently to himself as he stepped onto the bridge and looked out the viewport, would be the start of something good. He would know the Wavesong like the back of his hand while he commanded her but he would not be content with stopping there. He was going to do this right.  
  
“First command?”  
  
Hux whirled around with a start to look down at the Duros engineer who grinned up at him from where she was working on a console. “Am I that obvious?” he asked almost bashfully.  
  
“Nah, I’ve just seen a lot of you youngsters pass through my ships over the years. You all get that look in your eye the first time they give you the helm.” She smacked a panel back into place and clambered to her feet. “Not all of you make it a point to get on the ship so quickly though.”  
  
"I've been waiting for this a long time," he explained absently, looking slowly around the compact bridge. "Anything I should know about her?"  
  
The engineer shook her head. "The Wavesong's a reliable old boat. Keep her engines happy and you'll be happy."  
  
"Good to know, Chief..."  
  
"Stazi," she said, taking his offered hand up.  
  
Hux nodded curtly, shaking her hand firmly. "Good to meet you, Chief Stazi. I'm Hux. Are you shipping out with us?"  
  
Stazi shook her head. "Nah, I'm too old for that. I stick around base. Your crew's a good one though. Trained them myself. They'll keep her flying."  
  
"I wouldn't expect anything else," he replied sincerely.  
  
She bent down to retrieve her toolbox. "Good luck, Captain. Just remember... everyone messes up during their first command."  
  
Hux was too taken back to come up with any sort of reply before she was gone. With a sigh, he turned and leaned heavily on the console she'd just finished fixing. "That," he said to himself, "was not terribly reassuring."  
  
~  
  
Hux glanced down to check the time for what must’ve been the fifth time in as many minutes. Technically, the Jedi was only three minutes late but in his book that meant that he was eight minutes late. It wasn't really helping make a good first impression. Less than five standard hours ago, the Wavesong had been diverted from their primary mission to go pull off a last minute rescue. It was the first time in all his years in the New Republic that he could recall personally being involved in such a mission. Details had predictably been sparse; he didn't even know the Jedi's name. All he knew was that some foolish Jedi had either screwed up or had things go wrong (Hux really didn't care which) and now the New Republic was swooping in with an extraction from the precise planetary coordinates where he now waited. The Wavesong just happened to be the closest ship as it was in the next system over. Of course, he had only himself to blame for letting his executive officer talk him into actually being the person to meet the Jedi on the ground. "Just live a little, Captain," Jllor had said. "Some mission time on the ground could be good for you." And so there he was: sitting in a landspeeder waiting for the Jedi to meet him instead of sitting on the bridge of his ship. He already missed the Wavesong.  
  
“Hey.” He looked up to see a lanky young man leaning casually against his landspeeder eyeing him expectantly. “Do you know how to fly this thing?”  
  
“Of course I do,” Hux responded, condescension dripping from every word.  
  
“Good,” the stranger replied, glancing over his shoulder before jumping into the passenger seat. “You should probably start then, Captain.”  
  
“Care to explain wh—” A blaster bolt made him duck instinctively and his hands were on the speeder’s controls before he even sat up again. “You’d better be my contact,” he muttered.  
  
A few seconds later, any doubts he had vanished as a lightsaber appeared in the man’s hands, blade glowing a brilliant green. “Now would be good!”  
  
Nothing ever went smoothly in the New Republic, Hux thought. He’d no idea why he thought a simple retrieval mission would go well especially when it involved one of the galaxy’s few Jedi but this was definitely not how he’d expected things to go. Flying a landspeeder through the streets while a Jedi balanced on the back and blocked shots with his lightsaber sounded far too fantastical to actually have factored into his imagined scenarios. "Who's after you?" He had to shout to be heard over the wind.  
  
"Pirates," the Jedi responded casually. "They don't like me."  
  
"I would have never guessed," Hux muttered under his breath, turning the landspeeder sharply around a building corner as he made his way back towards extraction point Aurek.  
  
"Loop around and fly higher!"  
  
Silently, he complied with the Jedi's suggestion since he could actually see their pursuers. That, he quickly realized, had been a bad idea. He could feel the shift as the Jedi suddenly jumped out of the speeder and on to one of the pirates'. “What the--!” Given he had no desire to die that day, Hux couldn’t watch the Jedi’s attempt at suicide but he definitely could hear the sound of a lightsaber swinging, someone screaming, and then the sound of a speeder sputtering and crashing into a building. Gritting his teeth, he circled back around to the crash, not at all surprised to see the other speeder reduced to a fiery mess.  
  
And then there was a Jedi jumping into the passenger seat again. This was getting irritating. “You should probably start flying again, Captain,” he said with a lopsided grin. The speeder was already in motion again before he finished his sentence because Hux didn’t need to be told the logical course of action by some overgrown brat. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Hux.”  
  
“Got a first name?”  
  
“Captain.”  
  
The Jedi’s tone was so casual that they might as well have been on a pleasure flight instead of fleeing from pirates. “Fairly sure that's your rank but whatever. I’m Ben by the way, Ben Organa Solo.”  
  
Hux’s control of the landspeeder slipped for a moment and they swerved. “ _You’re_ Organa’s son?”  
  
“The one and only. Don't go this way."  
  
He gritted his teeth again. "This is the fastest way to the extraction point." A heartbeat later, another speeder full of their pursuers zoomed out in front of them and Hux wrenched the controls left, biting back a swear and just barely avoiding a full on collision that probably would have killed them all.  
  
Solo, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned. "I told you not to go that way."  
  
"Any more useful advice?" Hux asked sarcastically.  
  
The sarcasm was either lost upon or ignored by the other man. "Go left here and then right."  
  
Despite his better judgment, he complied, somehow managing the tight turns without crashing. "This is the complete opposite of the direction we need to head."  
  
"That plan isn't going to work anymore."  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"Because I'm fairly sure I just killed one of their leaders back there and now all of their crew is going to be after us."  
  
It took everything Hux had not to slam on the breaks. This had long since stopped being a simple extraction mission but this latest revelation took it straight into absurd territory. "Was this leader one of those you leapt out of the speeder for?"  
  
Solo shrugged. "Yeah."  
  
"Is there anyone else you'd like to kill to make our escape more difficult?"  
  
"Not really, no."  
  
There was something about his cavalier attitude that made Hux fume and desperately want to break his practiced calm by punching him in the face. Instead, he settled for yanking a datapad out of his pocket and tossing it at the Jedi. "Here: look at the coordinates for points Besh, Cresh, and Dorn. Tell me which one is the nearest and will have the least number of pirates in our way."  
  
"You picked four extraction points?" Solo asked incredulously. "For an assignment you got what? Hours ago?"  
  
"I believe in being thorough," Hux replied, keeping half an eye on the scanner. "The coordinates. Now."  
  
He went silent for a moment. "I think that Cresh should work... if we can get these guys off our tail."  
  
Hux didn't bother waiting for him to finish his sentence before flicking his comlink on. "Wavesong Actual to Shuttle 1257."  
  
_"We read you, Captain."_  
  
"Change of plans. We need a pick up at Point Cresh and we'll have--" The Jedi flipped out of the speeder again. _"What the KRIFF, Solo?!"  
  
"Sir?"_  
  
With a wince, Hux glanced over his shoulder just long enough to see a lightsaber ignite. "Disregard that last. Meet us at Cresh and do it fast. We'll be coming in hot."  
  
_"Roger that, Actual. We're on our way."_  
  
At least someone on this damn mission followed orders. Turning the vehicle in a tight circle, he headed back towards the pirates he was trying to avoid. If the mission's goal wasn't to rescue Organa's son, he would've long since just left his sorry ass behind. "Do you ever just stay in the damn speeder?" Hux asked exasperatedly as Solo jumped in. Again. This was getting ridiculous—did he not know how to use a door?  
  
"Did you want them to stop chasing us or not?" Solo countered. "I took care of their speeder. If your shuttle can make it to Cresh in time, we'll probably be fine now."  
  
"My people are more than competent," Hux snapped. "They'll do their job."  
  
For the first time, the other man seemed to hesitate. "I didn't mean to imply that they don't."  
  
"Given that we're on this planet to rescue you, you better not have."  
  
"Sorry," Solo mumbled, slouching in his seat a little.  
  
It was like dealing with an overgrown child. Never in a thousand years would he have guessed that the only son of Leia Organa would be like... this. Maybe the genes of a smuggler had proven stronger than those of a woman raised to be a poised, public figure. By some miracle, the rest of their travel to Point Cresh proved uneventful even if Hux pushed the landspeeder faster than most would have felt comfortable flying.  
  
As the cargo bay door shut behind them, it was suddenly like he was sitting next to the person he had expected the Jedi to be. "Thank you for the rescue, Captain," Solo said sincerely, extending a hand towards him after they'd both climbed out of the speeder.  
  
Cautiously, Hux shook it. "Just following orders."  
  
"Regardless, it's still appreciated. I very much like being alive."  
  
The next few days were odd to say the least. Solo seemed to have some charm switch that he could flip on so he could deploy that lopsided smile with great effect. By Hux's best guess, about half of his younger female crew members and perhaps a fifth of the men were enamored with the Jedi by the time they made it back to base. It was strange and it certainly didn't make him like the younger man any better. At best, he was a distraction and at worse, he was a bad influence. When the Wavesong landed on Hosnian Prime, Hux didn’t see the Jedi off. It was a breach of protocol but he didn’t care. Instead, he went about his usual routine; filing reports, authorizing the rotation of crew to take time away from the ship, and generally trying to forget that he’d ever met Ben Organa Solo.  
  
As was also his tradition after every return to base, his feet carried him down to engineering. He’d learned over the years that the engine was where the most things could go wrong and that it was also the place from where complaints took the longest to work their way up the chain. It was partially due to most engineers wanting to solve the problem with the resources at hand before asking for new parts but that didn’t stop it from being an issue. Routine visits to the engine room had been his solution and it had worked fairly well thus far. It also served as an escape. Engineering didn’t care who you were as long as you were useful.  
  
He was engaged in a discussion with one of the twi’lek engineers when an unfamiliar voice interrupted him. “Captain Hux sir?”  
  
“You’re not one of my crew, are you?” Hux asked calmly, not looking away from the part they were inspecting.  
  
“No sir.”  
  
“Then why are you on my ship?”  
  
“Admiral Antilles wants to see you, sir.”  
  
Hux froze. The Admirality didn’t just summon people on a whim. Excusing himself, he spun around and arched an eyebrow at the nervous looking ensign. “Lead with that first next time.” He ignored younger man’s stumbling answer. “Where is he?”  
  
“I’m supposed to take you there.”  
  
As Hux followed the ensign on to the actual base, a thousand different thoughts flew through his mind. The Jedi. This had to be about that privileged little brat. Everything else about this tour had proceeded flawlessly. He should’ve have known that the son of two celebrated war heroes was going to be nothing like his famous mother. Apparently the rules didn't apply if you had the Force.  
  
By the time Hux stepped into Admiral Wedge Antilles' office and smartly saluted, he was mentally fuming. Antilles returned the salute and nodded. "At ease, Captain. Why don't you take a seat?" He complied with the suggestion like it was an order. “I’m told that your last mission went well despite some complications.”  
  
“Complications.” Hux’s voice was flat. “Is that what he called them?”  
  
Antilles raised his eyebrows. “He?”  
  
“Ben. Organa. Solo.”  
  
“Ah yes. Well. That family can be… a force of nature. No pun intended.”  
  
“Force of nature?” Hux exclaimed. “Admiral, Solo is reckless and undisciplined. I don’t care who his parents are or what he told you: the extraction would have gone fine if he had adhered to the plan.”  
  
“You’ve been in enough battles by now, Captain,” the Admiral said mildly. “Plans change all of the time.”  
  
“When there’s a need. There was none until Solo decided to dabble in theatrics like the Jedi of old.”  
  
Antilles shrugged, leaning forward on his desk. “Ben’s still young. Self-discipline comes with time. But I actually didn’t ask you here to discuss your last assignment.”  
  
Hux’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Sir?”  
  
“Congratulations, Commander,” Antilles said with an almost straight face as he handed Hux his new rank patch. “Your promotion went through while you were away.”  
  
There was nothing that Hux could do to prevent the flush that came to his cheeks as he silently accepted the patch. The one time he let his emotions get the best of him… the one time. “Thank you, sir,” he finally managed to choke out.  
  
By then, Antilles was full out grinning. He was definitely enjoying this. “It’s overdue really. Now, go celebrate at a bar or whatever you youngsters do nowadays.”  
  
“I don’t think that drinking will ever go out of style of the military,” Hux said as he rose to his feet.  
  
“If it does, we'll have to order a full blown investigation.”  
  
He paused by the door. “Admiral, about my previous outburst...”  
  
Antilles waved it off. “Consider it forgotten. Go enjoy yourself, Hux.”  
  
That, Hux thought as he walked briskly back towards his ship, clutching his new rank patch tightly, was exactly what he intended to do. Ben Organa Solo be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are wondering if this chapter was an excuse to write Tycho and Wedge just because I could... you would be absolutely right and know me and my Star Wars weaknesses very well. Obviously this was my way of time jumping forward. If anyone wants, I can tell you about when each section is but I will tell you that all of this takes place before the events of Bloodline. Next chapter is the actual plot. I promise!


	3. Chapter 3

_27 Years after the Battle of Jakku_

The tour of duty had started out as fairly routine but there had been nothing ordinary about how the _Adamant_ had received high level, classified orders to divert from their current course. Hux had personally verified the encryption and instructions. Twice. Both times, the decoded message had yielded the same orders signed by General Tycho Celchu himself: report immediately to a set of coordinates in the Obroa-skai system to rendezvous with the _Allegiance_ and discuss these orders with no one.

Odder still was the fact that the general was there to greet him when his shuttle docked with the _Allegiance_. Hux was halfway towards snapping his hand up to salute when Tycho waved the gesture off. "No need for the formalities, Hux. This isn't that sort of briefing."

"Generals don't usually take the time out of their schedules to meet me so I figured as much," he replied, falling into step with the older man.

"The entire situation is abnormal," Tycho admitted as they began walking briskly through the ship corridors. "I thought you should be somewhat briefed before we go into that conference room in case you felt inclined to yell once you hear your new orders."

Hux stiffened. "General, I take pride in conducting myself in a manner worthy of this rank and uniform."

"And I certainly don't mean to imply otherwise," Tycho said smoothly, "But we all have our matters that leave us more emotionally inclined than usual."

"This is not inspiring confidence, sir," Hux replied wryly.

"I know," he admitted with an almost smile. "We're pairing the _Adamant_ with one of the galaxy's few Jedi Knights for a long term mission."

Hux stopped dead in his tracks. "You must be joking."

"I leave the jokes to Colonel Janson," Tycho replied with a straight face.

He gritted his teeth. "You want my ship to be at the disposal of a Jedi who doesn't know the first thing about strategy or command."

"It's intended to be a partnership," the general corrected him, "And an experimental one at that. If the rumors about the Unknown Regions are true, we're going to need every advantage we can get."

"You can say the First Order, sir. I don't need my feelings spared."

"I didn't think that you did."

Hux took a deep breath, slowly letting it out as they resumed walking. "General, this is insanity."

"No, insanity would be continuing along our current path," Tycho corrected him. "We're in this conference room on the left."

If Hux had thought that the day's surprises were over, he would have been quickly dissuaded from that particular nonsense as soon as he saw the woman who awaited them inside. "Senator Organa."

Leia Organa's smile seemed genuine as she rose to greet him. "Hux," she said, extending a hand towards him to shake firmly. "How lovely to see you again after all these years."

"Likewise, ma'am," he replied, straightening back up as she released his hand. "I'm flattered that you even remember me."

"It's not often that I'm asked to consult when someone defects from the First Order," she admitted. "I'm happy to see that you've done well for yourself with the New Republic."

"Thank you, ma'am." Before he had a chance to say anything further, the door behind them slid open and all three turned towards the newcomer and Hux was suddenly very grateful that Tycho had warned him at least somewhat about this upcoming mission. It meant he was able to contain his reaction to gripping his own wrist behind his back hard enough to bruise.

"Sorry," Ben Organa Solo apologized to the room. "I took a wrong turn and ended up a deck down."

Leia waved off the apology. "It's fine; we were all just catching up." As the lanky man moved to stand beside her, she began introductions. "You already know Tycho, of course, but I'm not sure if you've met--"

"Captain Hux," Solo interjected with a smirk.

The corners of his mouth twitched down almost imperceptibly. "It's Major now."

"--Major Brendol Hux who has apparently already met my son," Leia finished smoothly, speaking over the young men's exchange. "Good, we can get right to business then." All four took seats around the small conference table, Leia and Ben on one side and Tycho and Hux on the other. "This mission is classified and, I'm afraid, somewhat off the books. The Senate and Fleet High Command don't want to acknowledge that the First Order even exists much less admit that they will present a significant threat if we don't stop them."

"I'd be happy to inform them of how wrong they are," Hux said, eyes narrowing.

"We've used your case as an example," she replied, "But the head of the Armed Forces committee insists that the First Order is just a scattered group who cling to the glory of the Empire and nothing more. They've just been too good at covering their tracks."

Sometimes Hux thought that the New Republic could be just as dense as the First Order.

"That's why we wanted you for this mission, Hux," Tycho picked up. "You're as close to an expert on the First Order as we have. We need to be able to present the Senate with irrefutable evidence that they are a credible threat; something they can’t brush under the carpet like they did the Napkin Bombing."

Hux sighed. "I can see where this is going." He looked the Senator in the eye. "I can't give you their base location. Protocol dictated that the base moved on a routine basis and that the location was kept close hold. My defection, as publicized as it was, likely triggered a preemptive move and all of my knowledge of their operating procedures is over a decade out of date."

"We figured as much," Tycho replied. "But you still know how they think and that's invaluable to us right now."

“Of course,” Hux murmured. It always came back to this. No matter what he did, no matter how much time passed, he could never outrun his father’s shadow but this was neither the time nor the place for self-pity. The bigger problem sat across the table from him.

The sound of Solo's voice interrupted his thoughts, almost as if he'd picked up on them. "So why am I here?"

"Finding the First Order likely means finding the Knights of Ren too. I have nothing but respect for our military," Leia said, nodding towards Tycho and Hux, "But you're far better equipped to deal with them than they are."

Anger brewed in Solo's eyes. "So you're sending me after her."

Leia matched anger with steely calm. "I'm sending you and the _Adamant_ after the First Order."

"That's nexu shavit and you know it!"

"We can discuss this later, Ben."

"Mom--"

"This isn't the time or the place."

Mother and son locked gazes in a silent contest of wills. The son looked away first, slumping in his seat. Clearly this was the usual outcome of such battles. Hux glanced between the pair before raising an eyebrow and mildly saying, "We appear to be missing something."

"It's a family matter," Leia brushed the question away with an answer worthy of the politician she was. Hux didn't believe her dismissal for a minute but he also knew better than to press especially after the exchange he had just been privy to.

Tycho cleared his throat and pulled out two packs of datacards, tossing one to both Solo and Hux. "These have everything you'll need for the mission-- everything our Intelligence officers have been able to gather, official sets of both your orders-- cover story and actual, reporting protocols and encryption, and a line of credit for an emergency situation. You'll report directly to me but treat any communication from either myself or Leia as orders from both of us."

Hux pocketed his stack. "Who's in charge?"

"It'll be a joint command operation," Tycho said. "But you retain final authority as far as the _Adamant_ is concerned."

"Fantastic," he murmured with just a touch of sarcasm. If he had it his way, the Solo brat would never even see the inside of the bridge although perhaps he could find an excuse to toss him in the brig... "Where are we being sent first?"

"That's up to you although I suggest that you start by returning to your original itinerary while you decide where best to start the hunt."

"And am I authorized to brief my officers about our actual mission?"

"It's your command, Major," Tycho said. "We leave that to your discretion."

Hux nodded as he pulled out a datapad, fingers flying as he typed a message to his aide asking her to make sure there quarters were made available appropriate for a captain or higher (he disliked the man but propriety always won out) and to arrange a meeting with the ship’s highest ranking officers once he returned later. Within seconds, he had a response acknowledging the orders. With Kalin Werth, that meant he could consider them handled. He really needed to make the time to finalize her promotion paperwork. It was long overdue.

"Great," Solo said sarcastically, dropping his hands to the table. "When do we leave?"

"One would presume presently," Hux shot back, matching him note for sarcastic note.

"Sooner would be better," Leia cut in smoothly. "Hux, where is your shuttle docked?"

"Starboard 7, ma'am."

"We'll meet you there in an hour then. I'm sure that you and Tycho have more military details to discuss."

It was an odd thing to admire and yet Hux never failed to find himself in awe of how smoothly a handful of those in Republic leadership could dismiss a group without it feeling, well, dismissive. As one, he and Tycho rose to their feet. “Ma’am,” Hux said, nodding sharply which she acknowledged with a smile and a nod.

Tycho was halfway to the door before he paused and turned back to the table. “I almost forgot.” He pulled a datacard out of a pocket and tossed it towards Solo. “Winter asked that I give you this and said something about this being the only way she could be sure you were actually getting them.”

Solo looked down at his feet sheepishly even as Leia hid an amused smirk behind a hand. “Message received.”

“I’ll let her know,” Tycho said with a wink. “Winter’s my wife,” he explained to Hux as they left the conference room and started the walk back to the _Adamant_. “She also happened to grow up with Leia back on Alderaan so she’s as close to family as Leia has left except for her brother of course. She's very fond of Ben.”

“Ah.” Hux frowned ever so slightly. “So this is a family affair then. Except for me.”

“Leia needed people she could trust. That’s a rapidly dwindling group lately.”

“Not one I’m in though. I’m here because I come from the First Order.” His tone wasn’t bitter, merely matter of fact.

“Yes,” Tycho confirmed. “And because Leia trusts my judgment. I’ll be honest with you, Hux: we didn’t give you a choice about this assignment and we should have.”

Hux felt the frown on his face deepen at that odd combination of words. “Why?”

“It’s unsanctioned by the New Republic. I’m giving the _Adamant_ as much cover as I can manage with your official orders but High Command could easily court martial us both for this if things go wrong.”

“Orders are orders. I would have accepted these even if you had offered me the choice,” Hux said with complete sincerity. “If they’ve grown in strength as much as we suspect, the First Order must be stopped, court martial be damned. Sir.”

“Your enthusiasm for a covert mission against Command’s wishes is worthy of Rogue Squadron,” Tycho said dryly.

"Just don't ask me to get in a starfighter."

"You're not the right brand of crazy for that." A comfortable silence hung between them for a few moments. "You have concerns about Ben being a part of this."

"I understand why he was chosen."

"That wasn't what I meant."

"I know." Hux took a deep breath. "Sir, he's impetuous at best and a danger to the entire mission at worst. He's more reckless than one of those hotshot pilot rookies. I don't mean any disrespect or to question—”

Tycho waved off his apology. "He's never going to approach a problem with your level of analysis but he's not the same person you rescued five years ago."

"Oh?"

"People mature, Hux. Most people don't act like they're in their 40s while they're teenagers."

He cleared his throat with a hint of embarrassment. "Point taken."

"Ben's got a good heart; that's something the Skywalkers always have. He's also smarter than you think. Consider this a chance to wipe the slate clean."

"I'm just concerned that this won't work as well as you and Senator Organa think it will."

"You're going to have to determine how to make it work then, Major. Consider that an order if you must." Tycho's tone had shifted into his General Voice. It was one that left no room for argument.

Hux pursed his lips and nodded curtly. "Yes sir. Understood, sir."

"You'll figure it out, son," Tycho said, tone softening. "Just think of it as another one of those battle simulations you love so much."

"It may take more than a few simulators runs," Hux admitted, unable to shake the odd feeling that had been hanging over him since he'd set foot on the _Allegiance_.

His aide was waiting when they finally made their way down to the hanger bay closer to the appointed time. "General Celchu, sir!" Lieutenant Kalin Werth greeted them, saluting sharply.

Tycho returned the salute. "At ease Lieutenant. Nice to see you again."

"You too, sir," Kalin replied. She was a petite dark skinned woman who had, on more than one occasion, joked that she kept her hair so short because she didn't have time to deal with longer hair while doing all her work and keeping track of his. "Major, both of your requests have been handled. The meeting is set for 1530 and Captain Linordan asks that we provide Logistics with the name of whoever the quarters are for."

"I can almost promise you that everyone on board will know who they're for by the end of tomorrow," Hux said dryly. She raised a questioning eyebrow and he smiled without any mirth. "You'll see."

Right on cue, Leia and Ben walked into the hanger bay, the latter with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Kalin's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the Rebellion hero. "Hux," she whispered, "is that--?"

"Yes it is." It took a fair amount of effort for him not to grin. "Should I have warned you?"

She made some sort of sputtering-coughing noise and even Tycho couldn't help cracking a smile before reassuring her, "Don't worry, Werth, she gets that reaction a lot. Or at least she used to."

Leia greeted all of them with a smile she must have learned in the royal house of Alderaan that made everyone in its range feel like it was aimed at them in particular. Her son's grumpy countenance was an excellent foil. "I hope we haven't kept you waiting."

"Not at all, ma'am," Hux replied smoothly. "If I might introduce my aide? Lieutenant Kalin Werth, this is Senator Leia Organa and her son Ben. He'll be joining us for this tour." Anyone who didn't know her would have missed it completely but Kalin looked like she was going to fall over from merely being in the presence of her idol as she shook hands with first Leia and then Solo. He raised an eyebrow at the Jedi. "If you're ready..."

Solo nodded. "They're not going to come to us." He turned and bent down to hug his far shorter mother. Hux directed his gaze elsewhere, not wanting to intrude and feeling generally uncomfortable in the presence of a family who seemed to actually care about each other. It didn't stop him from hearing their brief and quiet conversation though. "I'll find them and I will bring her home."

"Don't do anything stupid," Leia replied, kissing him on the cheek.

Solo straightened up again and shrugged. "Hey, it's me."

She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly in the arm. "That's the problem, Ben."

Hux cleared his throat. "We'll have something for you soon, ma'am."

"I don't doubt it," Leia said. "May the Force be with you both."

The flight back to his ship barely took a few minutes. His executive officer was waiting for him in the hanger bay along with a young bothan ensign who had only joined them a few months ago. "That was faster than I expected," Teravo greeted him as they walked down the boarding ramp.

"Sorry to disappoint but they aren't giving you my ship quite yet," Hux replied dryly.

Teravo grinned, the expression crinkling the traditional tattoos that ran along his cheeks. "Maybe next time. I see we have a guest."

"Ah yes. This is Jedi Knight Ben Organa Solo. He'll be with us for the foreseeable future. Solo, this is my executive officer, Captain Ele Teravo."

The Mirialan's face didn't betray any of his surprise. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."

"You as well, Captain," Solo responded, shaking the other man's hand firmly.

"So what did we do to get a Jedi assigned to us?"

Oddly enough, Solo glanced at Hux, seeming to defer to him. It was most unexpected but not unappreciated. "It's classified at the moment but I'll explain during the briefing later."

Ever at the ready, Kalin stepped forward. "Ensign Tre'lya can escort you to your quarters, Knight Solo."

He winced. "You can just call me Ben. I don't really like titles." He flashed a smile at the bothan. "Lead on, Ensign."

"Have navigation set a course for our previous destination," Hux said after they left, handing Teravo a datacard. "And have comms set up a protocol so that any messages received using this encryption are routed directly to me and marked eyes only for myself and Solo."

Teravo let out a low whistle. "That bad, huh?"

"Potentially worse."

"The Skywalker gave that away."

Hux sighed. "Don't start, Ele." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kalin raise an inquisitive eyebrow to which Teravo shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Take care of both of those items before the briefing."

Teravo nodded sharply, snapping back into his role as XO. "Sir!"

That left Kalin to fall into step with him as he began the relatively short walk back towards his quarters. Despite living in the New Republic for well over a decade, he still never felt entirely comfortable letting others in and clung to military propriety. Barely anyone had managed to worm their way past his walls. Kalin Werth had been one of the few. He suspected it was because she reminded him of his sister. Not in looks, of course. Alys and he had been similar enough to be mistaken for twins on more than one occasion but Kalin had that same spark. While on duty, she was nothing but professional, competent, and efficient in everything she did. In private, she'd revealed herself to have a quick wit and a willingness to trade good-natured barbs while never crossing the line of propriety. She wasn't a replacement for Alys; no one could ever know and understand him quite like his sister had but she did help make the galaxy a slightly less lonely place.

"You should have warned me," Kalin said matter-of-factly.

Hux's voice and face remained neutral. "About what?"

"You know what."

"Enlighten me."

"That I was going to meet Princess Leia."

"Ah. No, I think it went well as it was."

She groaned. "Remind me again why I don't put in for a transfer?"

"Because working for me keeps your life interesting." They'd had that precise exchange many times before. Finally, Hux took pity. "If it helps any, I probably had that same slack-jawed look on my face when I unexpectedly ran into Rae Sloane one time."

"Sloane..." Kalin frowned. "The Imperial Admiral?"

"Grand Admiral but yes."

"But she's..."

Hux raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you didn't forget that I was raised Imperial."

"Hardly."

"Honor and strategic thinking aren't limited to one side. Admiral Sloane had both in spades."

"Of course, sir," she said, tone subdued. An awkward silence hung between them for a moment as they stepped into a turbolift and the door hissed shut behind them. "So why is the Princess's son here?"

"You don't want to be surprised during the briefing?"

"I hate surprises almost as much as you."

"We've been instructed to hunt down the First Order and present the Senate with proof of their existence and the threat they present."

"Oh." To her credit, Kalin took the news of their assignment without flinching. "Is that all? Would they like us to find the Katana Fleet while we're at it?"

"That's our next assignment," Hux deadpanned. "Supposedly, the Jedi is here to help."

She arched a dark eyebrow. "Not a fan of the Jedi, sir?"

"I'm not a fan of _that_ Jedi."

"He seems nice enough," she said with a shrug.

"I'm sure he has his moments."

"I take it that you two have a history?"

"If you can call one extraction mission a history."

"And?"

"Be glad you weren't serving with us five years ago." The turbolift doors opened smoothly as they reached the officer quarters deck. "Ask Teravo if you must."

Kalin smirked before reverting to professional blankness. "Anything else, Major?"

"That will be all until the briefing, Lieutenant."

~

The briefing went as well as Hux had expected which was to say that it went poorly. Most of his officers didn't have his same prejudice against the Jedi but more than a few side-eyed the idea of a joint command. Two had been supremely uncomfortable with the idea of being on an unsanctioned mission even though Hux repeatedly assured them that any consequences would come down on his head and not theirs. No one liked that it had come to this. Throughout the meeting, Solo sat at one end of the table and stayed silent unless someone asked him a question directly. It was to Hux's surprise that he lingered as the men and women filed out. "Yes?"

"I thought we should talk," Solo said matter-of-factly.

Kalin immediately rose to her feet, collecting her datapad from the table. "I'll be outside when you're finished, Major. There are a few other administrative matters to cover today."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he replied, waiting for the door to shut behind her before redirecting his attention to the Jedi. "What did you want to discuss?"

Solo folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side, studying him. "You don't like me, do you?"

Hux took a moment to consider his options before bluntly saying, "I think you're a liability."

"And I think you have a stick up your ass so we're even."

The corner of his mouth crept upwards. Good. They weren't going to pretend like they were friends. This was preferable. "You're hardly the first to make that observation. Anything else? I have actual work to do."

Solo actually looked irritated. "Finding them is just as much my mission as it is yours."

"Yes, your mother made it clear that you'll be very useful if we run into any of your Jedi types," Hux said dryly.

A dark storm settled over his features as the other man leaned forward heavily on the table. "So that's what this is. You have a problem with my family."

"No," he corrected him. "I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for your mother."

The disbelief was nearly tangible. "So Vader being my grandfather has nothing to do with why you can't stand me?"

"Yes, because I'm in such a fabulous position to judge others for what their fathers or grandfathers have done."

Solo looked genuinely confused. "What?"

"Never mind," Hux murmured. There was no need to make him aware of the elder Hux's approach to command. "If we're finished wasting time on personal matters, I'd prefer to move on to the actual mission. Do you have any opinion as to where to start?"

Confusion morphed into startled. "Tycho just gave us the intel five hours ago."

"Perhaps not enough time for a complete and thorough analysis but certainly enough for an initial review." Hux sighed and looked at him pointedly. "You _have_ opened the briefing packet, yes?"

"Uhh yeah."

Clearly Solo was not a talented liar. "Do you agree with their suggestion that Riosa would be a wise place to start?"

"I guess?"

"Intelligence offered no suggestions," Hux informed him, never changing his even tone. "We'll start at the edge of the Unknown Regions."

He could feel the heavy table move as Solo pushed off from it and turned to storm angrily out of the room. "I don't care where we go, Major. Do your job and find me the First Order. I'll handle the Knights of Ren."

All of ten seconds passed between Solo exiting the room and his aide entering. "That seems to have been productive." she commented mildly.

Hux massaged his temples with one hand. "Kalin, is there any room in my schedule to preemptively drink an entire bottle of Whyren's ahead of starting this nightmare of a mission?"

"If it's a small one, there's an opening this evening around 2100."

"Fantastic."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much love to everyone who has been reading thus far and double love to those of you who comment. Seriously, it makes my day to get those emails! <3 Feel free to come talk Star Wars and/or Kylux with me over at tumblr where I'm chaosbria.

**Chapter 4**  
  
Soon had been a pipe dream. The entire mission was an exercise in futility. The _Adamant_ had spent three months poking around planets on the edge of the Unknown Regions all to no avail. They'd follow rumors and the faintest of leads to a new planet, send a landing party down, and ultimately find either nothing or another faint-to-useless lead. And then, after every other planet or so, Hux would get into an argument with Ben Organa Solo that quickly devolved into little more than sniping at each other. It was a miracle that they had yet to come to blows. Hux kept reminding himself that such conduct would not be befitting of an officer and that he'd definitely lose that fight given that Solo appeared to spend all of his free time in the ship's gym facilities. Words were a safer arena.  
  
The only thing that had changed was the level of frustration during their strategy sessions which had, especially over the last two weeks, skyrocketed. Every time Hux sent another report back to General Celchu that conveyed the continuing status quo, he felt a little more unworthy of the trust placed in him.  
  
"What am I missing?" Hux asked rhetorically, staring at a projected map of the galaxy.  
  
"They're just too damn good at covering their tracks," Teravo said from where he was sprawled on one of the room's couches.  
  
Their intelligence specialist shook her head, blonde ponytail swinging. "Or we're not looking in the right places."  
  
Hux frowned. "Keep going."  
  
Liselle Afyon rose to her feet to stand beside him. She'd been assigned to the _Adamant_ for two years and was highly competent. Those who failed to meet his standards of efficiency never lasted long under his command before they either showed rapid improvement or were transferred but she'd proven herself so quickly that Hux had spent an hour arguing with a full fledged Colonel to keep her aboard the _Adamant_ when said Colonel had tried to have her transferred. "We've been focusing on this edge of Known Space based on the vector you took when you left the First Order. I think they may be using this area," she tapped the Shiritoku Way at the opposite end, enhancing the surrounding sectors, "as an exit route instead. It feeds into the Corellian Trade Spine or they could hit the Hydian Way if they stick to the Outer Rim."  
  
"One problem," Hux countered, tapping a green moon to highlight it. "Endor. Jakku may have ended the war but Endor was the greater failure for the Empire."  
  
"How did the First Order spin it?" Kalin asked curiously.  
  
"It was all propaganda."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
Hux frowned. "You really want to know?" Kalin shrugged and then nodded. He squared his shoulders and stared at a random point, letting his mind go back 20 years and voice taking on a more resonating note. "The Battle of Endor was a culmination of our Emperor's failures and oversights that we will not repeat again. The First Order will learn from the incompetency of fools like Piett. We will wipe the memory of Endor from the memory of the galaxy and crush the disorder of the Rebellion." His gaze left the random point and returned to his wide-eyed crew. "They tended to continue on in that manner for far longer but I no longer recall every word."  
  
The room was dead silent for a solid minute. Finally, Teravo cleared his throat. "Please never do that again."  
  
Hux shrugged. "You did ask."  
  
Only Liselle appeared to not be disconcerted. "You should have considered a career in politics, Major."  
  
"Not even my homeworld would be foolish enough to consider me."  
  
"You'd be surprised," she murmured, grey eyes narrowing as she turned back to the map before them, releasing it back to a wider view. "So you think they'll avoid it on principle."  
  
"Correct." Hux nodded. "The First Order dislikes reminders of failure. I'd rule out planets that were sites of major military defeats for the Empire."  
  
"That's why--"  
  
"But shouldn't we--"  
  
Liselle and Kalin spoke at the same time before both cutting off, Liselle gesturing for the younger woman to go first. "Shouldn't we look at Endor _because_ of that? No one likes to be reminded of their failures so won't they anticipate that we'll think they'll avoid Endor?" Hux raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Liselle who nodded her concurrence.  
  
"That's a messy path though," Teravo interjected. "Keeps going with the whole 'we assume that they assume that we assume' sort of logic and all."  
  
"Maybe, maybe not," Liselle countered.  
  
Before she could back the idea up any further, the doors hissed open to admit their resident Jedi Knight who was an infrequent member of their analysis sessions. "Sorry I'm late," Solo apologized to the room, offering no other explanation. Taking one of the free seats, he frowned as he looked at the map. "So we're giving up on this quadrant then?"  
  
Sitting up, Teravo nodded. "It's feeling like a dead end."  
  
"And going to..." Without saying a word, Liselle tapped a few buttons and shifted the projected map to focus on one system in particular. Solo couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. "Endor?"  
  
"Potentially," Hux amended. "I'm not convinced yet."  
  
"Kalin's right," Liselle said. "I think we need to explore this trade route instead of staying here. This is getting us nowhere. Endor's as good of a place to start as any if not better. It's relatively remote and barely inhabited. If they're looking for somewhere to use as a forward base of operations, this could be a viable option."  
  
His aide nodded. "What she said."  
  
Hux turned towards his XO. "Teravo?"  
  
The Mirialan shrugged. "Nothing else is working. I don't think we'll find anything but it beats flying the same mission again and I don't have any better ideas."  
  
Reluctantly, he then turned towards the Jedi who had an oddly pensive expression on his face. "Solo?"  
  
"There's something... Endor feels right."  
  
"I need a reason, not feelings."  
  
"Well the reason is that the Force is telling me that Endor feels right," Solo snapped back.  
  
A strangled coughing noise came from one of his crew. Hux didn't care to turn and see which one. "That's still not enough of a reason."  
  
"It would be if you understood the Force."  
  
At some point during the argument, they'd ended up a mere foot apart. It was with regret that Hux noted that the younger man had a solid two inches of height on him. He didn't like it. "Fine," he hissed, "Three solid reasons and one _feeling_. We go to Endor."  
  
~  
  
If it was going to be this muggy, the least it could do was rain. Hux didn't have many memories of his homeworld but he did have a strong one of how it had almost constantly rained on Arkanis. A sunny day had been a cause for celebration. Endor, on the other hand, was sunny all the time. And peaceful. And humid. He didn't like it. It felt rude.  
  
Just like every other planet, there had been nothing to find thus far. The main difference was that there was no one to actually talk to or at least not very many someones. The only sentients on the surface were all about knee high and furry and spending his day chatting up ewoks about the First Order was the last thing Hux had any desire to do. Somewhat gleefully, he'd left that role to one of his crew. Ever the dutiful officer, Teravo had solemnly announced that it was his job to remain aboard the ship if its commanding officer was amongst the landing party. Ever the actually dutiful officer, Liselle had taken the assignment and requisitioned a translator droid to assist. Surprisingly, Solo had actually volunteered for a defined role for once and offered to go with her, mumbling something about how the tribe knew him.  
  
That had been hours ago; hours of disgusting humidity that made Hux sweat right through his uniform and made the lack of progress drive him even more insane. Maybe he should consider venturing further from the shuttle to at least break up the boredom.  
  
"Anyone around here?"  
  
Hux suppressed an uncharacteristic groan. Ben Organa Solo was not what he needed right now. Mentally steeling himself, he stepped into view of the boarding ramp. "Did you find something?"  
  
Solo shrugged. "Maybe. The tribe gave us a few potential leads. Liselle's got squads following up on most of those but one of the younger ewoks said there were strangers nearby recently during the night. Chieftan Wicket didn't believe him but it's better than pointlessly swinging from branches, right?"  
  
Placing the canteen down, he nodded. "Usually yes. Let's go then."  
  
"You?" Solo didn't try and mask his surprise. "You're going to go with me?"  
  
"Do you see anyone else here?"  
  
"No," Solo conceded. "Didn't think you'd want to."  
  
"We're losing daylight by arguing."  
  
"There are another six hours before the sun--"  
  
"It was a metaphor."  
  
They walked in silence for the most part. The terrain proved to be rougher than Hux had anticipated especially when it came to surmounting downed trees. It forced him to admit to himself that perhaps he could do to spend more time in the _Adamant's_ gym but he was hardly going to admit that aloud, not even when he was forced to accept a hand up from Solo. The other man was younger and a Jedi anyways. He was cheating. "How much further do we have to go?"  
  
"It shouldn't be much..." Solo started before halting abruptly, making Hux almost run into his back. "We're here."  
  
"And where is here?" Hux asked exasperatedly. Solo ignored him. Instead of snapping again, Hux glanced around the clearing, taking in what appeared to be the burnt remains of a bier. "That doesn't look ewok built."  
  
"It's not."  
  
Taking a step around the Knight who now seemed to be made of marble, Hux took in the clearing with a glance. Faint tracks that appeared to be humanoid were left in the dirt and there were more than a few snapped branches. Someone or someones had clearly been here within the last week. He turned to raise an expectant eyebrow and got only silence in return. "Don't make me drag it out of you a word at a time, Solo."  
  
Ignoring him, Solo stepped forward to the bier, traipsing through the evidence, a hand reaching out to touch it but stopping just shy. "This is where my uncle cremated what was left of his father."  
  
"Your uncle." Hux's tone was flat. "I don't suppose that Han Solo has a brother, does he?" Solo shook his head. "That's what's left of Darth Vader?"  
  
"Anakin Skywalker."  
  
"It was the same person behind the mask."  
  
"No it wasn--wait the mask!" He frowned down at the ashes. "There should be something left of it. The fire wouldn't have been hot enough to destroy the helmet completely."  
  
"Someone may have taken it as a morbid souvenir," he offered.  
  
Solo shook his head. "No one else knew this was here. A tourist wouldn't know where to look."  
  
"Well someone clearly did," Hux countered, nodding towards the footprints. "Those are deliberate and they certainly aren't ewok." Solo's attention was clearly held by what little was left of Darth Vader's ashes and he barely made a sound of acknowledgement. With mild amusement, Hux watched as he extended a hand and then dropped it and then extended it again. "Either touch it or don't."  
  
The glare Solo shot him was unamused to say the least but it did seem to give him that final push to rest his hand in the ashes. His entire body stiffened, eyes going unfocused. Hux found it supremely unnerving. He'd no idea how long he stayed like that but it felt like an eternity before Solo finally gasped, blinked, and fell to his knees. "Kriff."  
  
"Are you all right?" Solo's only answer was to move his head down a fraction of an inch. "What did you see?" His breathing was heavy but otherwise, there was no response as Solo stared at some random point in the dirt, clearly shaken by whatever that Force nonsense had just shown him. "What did you see?" Hux pressed again. The Jedi remained silent. Sighing, he rolled his eyes upwards and then kept them there as a dark shape caught his attention. It almost looked like... "Solo, look out!"  
  
Everything happened at once. The shape materialized into a humanoid with a blaster aimed squarely at them and fired. For a brief moment, Hux was positive that he was going to have to report back to Leia that her son had died right where his grandfather had burned. Instead, he felt his breath catch in his chest as Solo whirled around and flung out one hand, halting the blaster bolt in mid air. Their attacker seemed equally shocked, just barely flinging their body out of the way as Solo sent it right back at them. It was a raw display of power unlike any he'd ever seen before. Awe contained, Hux aimed his own blaster, firing off three rapid shots before their attacker jumped to another branch.  
  
"It's one of Ren's!" Solo spat out angrily, crouching down. Before Hux could respond, Solo leapt into the air, clearly aided by the Force, and landed on a branch at least six meters up. The intent was clear. The Knight of Ren took off to another branch, somehow not plummeting to their death with Solo hot in pursuit. The only further communication was a lightweight robe fluttering down to the earth.  
  
Trading his blaster for his comlink and sighing as he reluctantly retrieved the garment, Hux tried to keep up with them from the ground. "Afyon!" There was only a moment's wait before she responded. "Where's your group?"  
  
_"About a klick east of the village."_  
  
"Head south. NOW."  
  
_"We're going south and fast!"_ she told her group curtly, voice a little bit fainter. _"Got coordinates for us, Major?"_  
  
"Track Solo's comlink if you have it. Mine if you don't."  
  
_"We only have yours."_  
  
Silently, Hux promised to put a tracker on the Jedi before the next mission.  
  
There was the briefest pause as she input the data and then silence was replaced by the sound of both of them breathing more heavily as they sprinted through the uneven forest ground. _"What'd he find?"_  
  
"A Knight of Ren shot at us."  
  
_"We'll pick up the pace then."_  
  
She left the link only but only to help track. Hux was grateful to be without the distraction. Keeping up with Solo and the enemy was taking everything he had. If they hadn't been handicapped by having to leap from branch to precarious branch, he would have long since been outstripped. Despite the horribleness of the situation, Hux found himself oddly entranced by watching Solo and the grace with which he moved. He hadn't had the chance to notice anything beyond those ridiculously extravagant flips the first time they had worked together since he had been far more concerned with not crashing and dying. It was impossible to ignore now though as he watched them continue the chance onwards and now somewhat downwards... "Afyon, I need a sit rep."  
  
_"One minute out."_  
  
"We might not have a minute. I think they have a ship near here."  
  
_"Nexu shavit!"_ Liselle swore. _"Sorry, Major."_  
  
He ignored the shared sentiment, instead switching frequencies. "Hux hailing the _Adamant_!"  
  
_"Adamant here, Major."_  
  
"Scramble a flight for intercept now!"  
  
_"Yes sir. What's the target?"_  
  
"Whatever ship leaves this damn planet next!"  
  
Solo and the Knight of Ren were only a few meters up now but Hux had fallen behind. Instinctively, he ducked as their enemy started shooting at them again. A green lightsaber appeared, blocking every blast but one made him overextend and Solo lost his balance on the narrow branch. It wasn’t a long fall and he managed to land on his feet but it was enough time for the Knight of Ren to make the last leap to their hidden, waiting ship and take off before Solo could catch up.  
  
Before it even left, Hux was on his comlink again. “ _Adamant_ , I need those fighters launched NOW. Unknown starfighter departing from our current location. Intercept but do not destroy. Repeat back.”  
  
_“Intercept starfighter but do not destroy,”_ the _Adamant_ communications officer repeated dutifully.  
  
“And I want a report as soon as you have anything. Hux out.”  
  
Solo was glaring up at the departing ship, breathing heavily and ignited lightsaber still in hand. “Kriff!” he swore loudly, aggressively swinging his blade and slicing more than a few branches.  
  
“Calm down, Solo,” Hux snapped, thrown by the violent display of temper. “They haven’t escaped yet.”  
  
“I should have stopped them.”  
  
“They had the—would you stop attacking that tree before you fell it?” Surprisingly, Solo stopped, green blade disappearing as he returned the hilt to his belt and sat down on his heels, anger still radiating off of him. With a suppressed sigh, Hux stepped forward and dangled the robe in front of his nose. “You dropped this.”  
  
A flash of surprise appeared in his dark eyes as he reached out and took it. “Thanks.”  
  
Silence hung between them for a moment before Hux cleared his throat. “So that was one of the Knights of Ren then?” Solo nodded. “Did you know who it was?”  
  
“No,” he answered reluctantly, straightening back up. “I didn’t recognize her in the Force.”  
  
“Not this mysterious woman that you and the Senator spoke of.”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Perhaps you can share who that individual is.” Unsurprisingly, Solo pretended not to hear him. It was incredible how he could be functionally mute when he put his mind to it. Hux contained his frustrations to tapping a finger impatiently against his comlink. “How did you know she was a Knight of Ren?”  
  
He shrugged. “The Force.”  
  
“Oh the Force has invisible banner that declares everyone’s allegiance that only you can see?” Hux snapped acidly.  
  
“I don’t have to explain the Force to you!” Solo retorted, invading his personal space.  
  
“You do when it has an effect on my mission!”  
  
“Our mission!”  
  
“Only when you can be damned to—” The loud beeping of a comlink cut Hux off and he reluctantly turned away to answer. “Yes?”  
  
_“Major, this is the Adamant,”_ Teravo’s voice came out of the tiny device.  
  
Internally, Hux winced. This was not going to be good if his executive officer was personally making the call. “Report, Captain.”  
  
_“We weren’t fast enough.”_ Regret dominated Teravo’s tone. _“The starfighters had just launched when the target hit space. I’m sorry, sir. I take full responsibility.”_  
  
Suddenly, Hux could see the appeal of attacking an innocent tree. Instead, he silently counted backwards from five before responding. “Have a full report prepared by the time I return to the ship.”  
  
_“Yes sir,”_ Teravo said. _“Adamant out.”_  
  
The look on Solo’s face bordered between annoyed and smug when Hux finally flicked off his comlink again and returned it to his belt. “Looks like your people are just as competent as me today.”  
  
“Oh kriff off!” Hux exclaimed, turning on his heel to storm back towards the shuttle.  
  
~  
  
“Our first real lead and we let her get away,” Teravo said miserably as they all sat in the conference room, looking worse for the wear.  
  
“Our fault,” said Captain Ivason, flight helmet still tucked under her arm. She was another infrequent member of their planning sessions and clearly did not intend to linger this time. “I’ll drill my people on faster launches first thing next day cycle.”  
  
Solo sat on a bench by the wall, ridiculously long legs pulled up to his chest. “I should’ve caught her.”  
  
“Martyring ourselves won’t change anything,” Hux broke in, “and I won’t have us waste any more time on it.” Silence fell across the room as most of its occupants looked away uneasily. Hux cleared his throat before speaking again. “We have more to go on now than before.”  
  
Teravo raised an eyebrow. “You’re taking this calmly.”  
  
Hux was most definitely not taking this calmly. No one needed to know that though. “I don’t care to waste the energy.” He turned towards Ivason. “Captain, I’m sure you have plenty of other duties to attend to.”  
  
A flash of gratefulness appeared in her red eyes. While she’d played the game well enough to be promoted, flying was her preferred arena. “Thank you, Major,” she said with a curt nod before leaving.  
  
Liselle had moved past the self-flagellation faster than the rest of them. “Are the Knights of Ren a formal part of the First Order?” she asked Solo specifically.  
  
He shrugged, elbows resting on his knees. “Not sure. I know they’re controlled by the Supreme Whatever—”  
  
“Supreme Leader,” Hux corrected, not even looking his way.  
  
“—but I don’t think they’re part of the military.”  
  
“But they’d share intel?” she followed up intently. He nodded. “Then we have to assume they know the New Republic was poking around Endor.”  
  
“They don’t know why though,” Teravo interjected. “It could have been a complete coincidence for all they know.”  
  
Kalin spoke up for the first time. “They’ll still be suspicious.”  
  
Liselle nodded. “I think it was worth that risk. Now we know that they’ve used Endor.”  
  
“We do?” Kalin asked curiously.  
  
“They’d been there before,” Solo said. “I don’t know if the one I chased was a rear guard or just checking in but this wasn’t the first time she’d been on planet. Hux and I found evidence that they’d been there before.”  
  
The blonde raised an inquiring eyebrow at Hux and he confirmed the story with a nod. “They seem to have some sort of fascination with Vader.” The room got quiet and everyone tried very hard not to look at the Sith Lord’s grandson. Hux would’ve felt bad if he’d had normal human emotions. “Lieutenant, do we have the starfighter’s escape vector available?”  
  
With a nod, Kalin tapped a few buttons on the projector, a red dotted line appearing across the system. Teravo let out a low whistle. “Straight towards the Unknown Regions. Afyon was right.” To her credit, the woman only acknowledged it with a half shrug. “I’m assuming we don’t think this Knight of Ren had the time to calculate anything more than a straightforward hyperspace route.”  
  
Solo shook his head. “She was scared. I could feel it in the Force.”  
  
“Anything else?” Hux asked with the faintest touch of sarcasm.  
  
He hesitated. “She recognized me. She’ll tell her Master.”  
  
It was Hux’s turn to frown. “And does that present another obstacle for our mission.”  
  
“Maybe? Probably not. They’ll just be more careful.”  
  
“So we’re looking for their base now instead of evidence of operations,” Liselle abruptly changed the subject. “Does that still fit within the mission parameters?”  
  
Hux mentally reviewed Leia and Tycho’s original assignment before replying. “They wanted evidence that the First Order is a threat. An enemy fleet would certainly qualify as such. I believe it should.”  
  
“I’d like to point out for the record that venturing into the Unknown Regions without hyperspace maps is not the safest move,” Teravo said dully.  
  
“Duly noted,” Hux responded, “but I see little choice. Any other objections?”  
  
He was met by a long silence before Solo loudly dropped his feet to the floor again and leaned forward. “So what? We go into the Unknown Regions?”  
  
Hux nodded. “We go into the Unknown Regions.”


	5. Chapter 5

People moved out of her way.  
  
It wasn't because they were scared of Ziris. She'd glimpsed enough of their surface thoughts to know that many aboard the _Finalizer_ didn't fear the Knights of Ren as individuals. Most just saw them as another tool of the Supreme Leader.  
  
No, they cleared a path because nothing good ever came from the unscheduled return of a Knight of Ren. Her orders had been to stay on Endor another week and observe. She had disobeyed them but with good reason. Or at least she hoped.  
  
Ziris paused as she finally reached her destination, letting the security panel read her palm print and then waiting until the door admitted her. The room was cluttered with mechanical everything; more like a workshop than an inner sanctum but it hardly surprised her. In fact, this was preferable given the tendencies of the room's occupant. She was usually calmer when fixing something.  
  
"Master." Kneeling, she removed her mask and pushed back her hood, waiting for Kyla Ren to acknowledge her presence.  
  
She made her wait. The silence dragged out for several long minutes, metal clinking against metal. "Why aren't you on Endor?" Ren finally asked her, voice distorted by the vocalizer inside her helmet.  
  
"I had to flee," Ziris explained. "The New Republic... they were there. They found me."  
  
"They found you."  
  
The words tumbled forth from her lips. "One of the capital ships was in orbit around the planet. They were looking for something and they got too close so I took the shot-- with a blaster on the ground, not from my ship."  
  
Ren snapped the last casing piece into place on her lightsaber and finally looked down at her. "Shooting at people is usually a good way to make sure they find you."  
  
Her spine curled a little at the rebuke. "Master, I had to! A Skywalker was--"  
  
There was a blur of motion as suddenly Ren was on her feet, fingers curled around Ziris' throat and yanking her up too. "You found Luke Skywalker and let him escape?" Ziris frantically shook her head, trying to breath. "Then who?"  
  
"Organa's son," she gasped out. Ren released her and Ziris crumpled to the floor, catching herself with her hands. She kept her hands firmly against the cool metal even though every instinct made her want to reach for her chest. It would be seen as a sign of weakness and she was already on thin ice as it was. "There was a naval officer with him," she forced out, keeping her gaze down. "A Major, I think."  
  
"Where were they?"  
  
"Darth Vader's cremation site."  
  
Ren reached down and carefully nudged Ziris' chin to bring her gaze up, making her look into the blank mask. "You are going to start at the beginning and you are going to tell me everything."  
  
Ziris nodded. There was no other choice.  
  
~  
  
Ben woke up abruptly in a cold sweat. There were some who probably saw Force visions as a gift but he hated them. Ever since he'd been a small child, he'd infrequently had dreams that he somehow knew were true. Sometimes they were of the future and sometimes they were about something happening now. Regardless of when, they were never good. More than one had made him briefly wish that he'd been born Force blind like his father.  
  
He tossed aside the tangled sheets, sliding down to kneel on the cold metal floor. Uncle Luke had always told him to meditate and try and find meaning. This one wasn't hard to figure out. He'd been right: the Knight of Ren had recognized him on the planet and now Kyla Ren knew he was hunting her. She would've suspected it but now she knew for sure. This was bad. He didn't want to clear his damn mind, he wanted to—  
  
Ben punched the floor, leaving a small indentation in the metal.  
  
Returning to sleep felt pointless even though it was barely past 0500. His body was too keyed up to even try. With a groan, he rose to his feet, a shirt flying to his hand with the help of the Force. If he was going to be awake then he might as well train. It was all he ever really did on this stupid ship. There was nothing else to do unless he wanted to be bored out of his mind by reading intelligence briefings. Absently, he tied his hair back as he walked through the empty corridors. Ben wasn't a fan of this hour but he didn't mind the lack of people out and about. If anything, it helped highlight the low rumble of the engines. He liked the sound, always had. It made him think of the Falcon and his—  
  
Mid-thought, he abruptly changed directions. His mother needed to know about this vision and he wasn't going to tell her through one of Hux's reports. He couldn't. Not without...  
  
The door to the secure communications room opened at a scan of his retina pattern. Hux had granted him access and his aide had walked him through how to set up all the appropriate security protocols. (Computers weren't really his strong point.) He still thought it was weird how Kalin was nothing but polite and friendly to him while the Major seemed to barely tolerate his presence on the ship. Ben'd thought that Hux's problem stemmed from the Vader family legacy but he seemed to genuinely respect Leia so that theory had been vaped. Not that he was ever openly insulting. He clung to his love of rules and propriety too much for that. Well except for that one time Hux'd sworn at him on Endor but beside that. Ben probably wasn't helping things by purposely needling him at every opportunity. Too bad it was fun.  
  
The room wasn't, as he'd expected empty. Instead, a familiar red head was seated before the lone communications console.  
  
"...a risk we have to take," Hux was saying intently as Ben drew closer.  
  
"I don't need to tell you the dangers of traveling through uncharted regions," the hologram of Tycho replied, "but I'll remind you of them anyways."  
  
"I won't risk my crew unnecessarily."  
  
"Even when the First Order is involved?"  
  
Hux's jaw tightened. "Sir..."  
  
"Oh drop the sirs and the generals, Hux, I know what you're doing." The younger man lowered his gaze ever so slightly in acknowledgement. "One day, you'll learn to stop assuming everything is a criticism."  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
Tycho shook his head. "The whole galaxy's not out to get you, son."  
  
"Just the First Order and a handful in the New Republic," came the unusually glib reply, "and I'm working on dealing with the former."  
  
"Does the _Adamant_ have adequate supplies?"  
  
"We're refueling and restocking on Bakura. My XO is handling the logistics."  
  
"I can probably reassign a long range scout ship if you need it. No crew though."  
  
"I don't think that's necessary quite yet."  
  
Tycho nodded. "Send the request in your weekly reports if that changes. Be punctual with those, by the way."  
  
Something almost resembling a smile appeared on the other man's face. "When have I not been?"  
  
"I'd prefer to avoid sending a search party after you."  
  
"We'll do our best, sir."  
  
Ben was just starting to contemplate leaving when the two ended their conversation. Hux visibly flinched when he turned and saw him standing there. "I didn't hear you come in."  
  
"Jedi," he said, flashing a smile. "We're stealthy like that."  
  
"Stealthy is not the word I would've chosen to describe you," Hux murmured, rising to his feet. “Did you need something?” Ben nodded towards the console and he stepped away from the seat. “Ah.”  
  
Ben made no move to take over, making a face instead. “Do you ever sleep?”  
  
“I have alpha shift,” Hux said as if it was a perfectly reasonable explanation.  
  
It wasn’t. “I thought alpha shift didn’t start for another three hours.”  
  
“I have work to do.”  
  
“At 0500?”  
  
“Running a ship isn’t something that is confined to normal hours.”  
  
He couldn’t help grinning. “Sleep is good for you. You should try and get more of it. People will talk if their commander has dark circles under his eyes.”  
  
“As _charming_ as this lecture is,” Hux drawled, “especially paired with you demoting me, it means very little coming from someone also awake at this hour.”  
  
This was what made him dislike the older man. He always had some cutting response at the ready no matter what and Ben rarely did. “I need to use the comm unit,” he finally said lamely.  
  
There was the faintest hint of a smirk on Hux’s face as he gestured towards the seat. “Be my guest, Master Jedi.”  
  
Ben silently fumed. He hated being called that. Hated it. And Hux clearly knew it. “Thanks,” he muttered.  
  
“Don’t mention it,” Hux replied, already on his way out the door.  
  
Ben curled and uncurled his hands into fists three times, taking a deep breath with each. He had to calm down before he sent a message to his mother. No need to worry her anymore than he was already going to.  
  
~  
  
Traveling through uncharted space was slow going and while Endor had lifted moral briefly, the higher spirits hadn’t lasted. Hux had started to wonder if maybe this mission hadn’t been a sign of trust from Tycho and Leia but instead some sort of punishment. Serving in the New Republic’s military wasn’t exactly as exciting as it might have been back in the day but he suspected that it had to be better than a fruitless assignment. It felt as if they were doomed to fail and if there was one thing Hux did not handle well, it was failure.  
  
“You seem tense,” Kalin remarked calmly, as they circled one another in one of the _Adamant’s_ sparring areas, hands up in defensive positions.  
  
“Most likely because we’re currently trying to punch each other,” Hux replied with an eyebrow raise. After Endor, he’d started making it a point to put in more time at one of the _Adamant’s_ gym facilities. It wasn’t as if he had anything else to do.  
  
She shook her head, eyes never heading his fists. “You were tense before we left the bridge. Actually, you’ve been tense since we left the _Allegiance_ behind.”  
  
He sidestepped. “It’s hardly worth bringing up now then, is it?”  
  
He wasn’t sure which felt more lethal; the landed hit or the unimpressed look on her face. “Real funny, Major.”  
  
“I don’t aim for humor.”  
  
“Really?” Kalin asked, expression all innocence.  
  
“Funny,” Hux retorted, finally landing a punch of his own.  
  
They circled each other for another minute in silence, evaluating the other’s weaknesses even though it was pointless given how frequently they trained together. “What’s going on, Hux?”  
  
“It’s nothing.”  
  
“It’s clearly not.”  
  
Hux clenched his jaw. “It’s just in regards to the mission.” She didn’t respond, letting him work his way towards it. “I think we’re going to have to change our approach soon and I don’t care for the direction.”  
  
“Why not?” she asked, dodging his punch with relative ease and then taking his legs out from under him with a sweep of her leg. He hit the mat painfully and she pressed her advantage, a knee to his chest pinning him to the ground.  
  
With a sigh, Hux tapped the floor three times, signaling surrender. Immediately she backed off and offered him a hand up. “It’s personal.”  
  
“You do personal almost as frequently as you do humor,” she said wryly.  
  
“This is… different,” he confessed. “My judgment feels clouded when the First Order is involved.” Kalin didn’t respond, merely folding her arms across her chest. He sighed. “I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it to return to the last base location I knew.”  
  
“What do you have to lose?”  
  
“Nothing,” Hux admitted, raising a hand to wipe sweat from his brow. “That’s the problem.” She raised an expectant eyebrow. “I’m not particularly inclined to return.”  
  
“If you think it could help even a little, I think we should go,” Kalin said sincerely. “But I’m not an intelligence genius.”  
  
“I value your opinion nonetheless.”  
  
“Bring it up to the group,” she suggested, frowning as her comlink beeped insistently and she read the brief message.  
  
“Problem?” he asked, arching one eyebrow.  
  
She shook her head. “Nothing to worry you about, sir. It’ll just be a line in one of your daily reports tomorrow. If you’ll excuse me?” He nodded a dismissal and she quickly left the mat, shrugging into a jacket as she hurried off. For the hundredth time, Hux thanked whatever power had gotten her assigned to his ship. No one in officer school really taught you how valuable a smart aide was but he was well aware that Kalin Werth was the reason he was able to sleep six hours a night instead of just four.  
  
“Care for another partner?”  
  
Hux whirled around, surprised to see the lanky Jedi standing there. How the hell was he so damn sneaky? “You?”  
  
Solo shrugged. “Why not?”  
  
“Because you’re… you,” he finished lamely, suddenly acutely aware of the differences between them. It was far easier to ignore how much smaller he was than the Jedi. Not so much in height but in more in regards to… He swallowed hard, taking in the solid mass of muscle that stood before him in a tank top that looked like it was going to give up any second. Taking in and appreciating. Quickly, Hux squashed that train of thought. It was simply appreciation of another person. There was no way that he would ever consider getting involved with Ben Organa Solo no matter how large his biceps are. He could blame this brief lapse of judgment on the overly warm room.  
  
That stupid lopsided smile was on Solo’s face again. “I promise to take it easy on you.”  
  
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Perhaps just promise not to cheat by using your Force. That would be less insulting.”  
  
“Scared you can’t win, Major?”  
  
“I’m simply a realist, Solo.”  
  
“Then fine,” Solo said, spreading his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. “I won’t use the Force if that makes you feel better.”  
  
“Quite.” His words dripped sarcasm.  
  
“Major Hux isn’t afraid of a challenge, is he?”  
  
“Hardly!” The words were out of his mouth before he could even stop them. It was embarrassing to be tricked into such an easy trap but there was no way to avoid it now. “Fine. We spar.”  
  
Solo grinned but made no other response as they dropped into fighting stances. They circled each other slowly, evaluating the other’s stances and potential weaknesses. Or at least that was what Hux was trying to do. The Jedi kept his chest still, not telegraphing the hit he threw Hux’s way until it was almost too late to block it. It was with relief that Hux _did_ manage to deflect it with a forearm. From there, the punches between the two flew quickly. The first time Hux took a hit, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from yelping. The muscles were an accurate representation of the strength behind them and it _hurt_. It made it worse that Solo clearly knew it hurt and he grinned.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Hux fired back with punches of his own, even managing to land one. The testing part of the match was over as both men were now purely focused on winning. It was obvious that Solo had the advantage in every way. He had the height, the weight, and the benefit of spending as much time training as Hux spent stuck behind a desk. It wasn’t something that he was necessarily insecure about but he hated being in a fight he knew he couldn’t win.  
  
“Ow!” Hux exclaimed, hitting the ground painfully for the second time that day. Angrily, he swung a leg and knocked Solo to the ground. The Jedi made an even louder thump as he landed beside him. Sparring turned into something more akin to wrestling as they grappled. Hux wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was definitely fighting dirty. It wasn’t behavior befitting of an officer or a Hux but in that moment, he just didn’t care. Every last bit of frustration that had built up from their thus far fruitless mission and that had been compounded by Ben Organa Solo’s stupid attitude felt like it had risen straight to the surface. There was no way that both of them wouldn’t have wicked looking bruises the next day.  
  
He wasn’t entirely sure how it happened but somehow Hux ended up on his stomach, a knee pressed in the small of his back, one of his arms twisted up uncomfortably behind his back and the other one trapped against his side by Solo’s other knee. “Want to surrender?” Solo asked, the satisfied smile audible in his voice.  
  
“I can hardly tap out when you’ve got both of my arms trapped!” Hux snapped, still struggling to see if he could get free. He couldn’t. Solo released his twisted arm and Hux reluctantly tapped the ground three times, face twisting into as much of an expression of disgust as he could manage while half smushed against the floor. “Are you planning on letting me up now?”  
  
“No,” Solo said pensively. “I think this is a good time to talk.”  
  
“Do you not know how much you weigh, you hulking brute?!”  
  
Solo ignored him. “Clearly you don’t like me and I want to know why.”  
  
Hux groaned. “Haven’t we already gone over this? You think I’m an ass and I think you’re a liability.”  
  
“No, I think you have a stick up your ass,” Solo corrected him.  
  
“Right now, you’re literally a pain _on_ my ass. Would you _get off_ of me already?”  
  
Finally, Solo acquiesced, shifting to sit beside him and Hux quickly rolled on to his back, pushing himself up. “Why does it matter?”  
  
“Because I want to know.”  
  
Hux sighed, smoothing his hair back into place. “I don’t like that you can’t follow orders worth a damn. If you were actually in the military instead of just co-commanding this mission, you would have been demoted and written up ages ago.”  
  
Solo made a face. “That’s it? You don’t like me because I don’t fit into your stupid little soldier mold?”  
  
Hux tilted his head a few inches to the left (a gesture that had been considered akin to a shrug on his mother’s homeworld) as he considered the question. “Essentially, yes.”  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
“Why would I lie about why you drive me insane?”  
  
The expression of disbelief on Solo’s face only deepened. “And you don’t care that I’m related to Darth Vader?”  
  
He frowned. “Why would I care?”  
  
“Most people do,” Solo explained as if to a child. “He killed millions of people.”  
  
“And my father tried to breed a generation of perfect stormtroopers and had cadets kill each other to weed out the weak.” Surprise seemed to radiate off the other man, enough to make Hux frown. Solo couldn’t possibly be completely ignorant to the Commandant’s programs and yet it appeared that he was. He shook it off. “I told you before that I don’t judge people based on what their relatives did… only on what they do.”  
  
“How noble of you,” Solo shot back sarcastically.  
  
“I try,” Hux retorted, matching him in tone. “If you’d like more of a list, I also don’t like you because you disrupt my ship and because you’re willfully withholding information about the Knights of Ren that could help us find the First Order.”  
  
“It’s none of your business!”  
  
“Everything related to the First Order is my business right now,” Hux said, slowly pushing himself back to his feet and wincing as he did. Forget hurting tomorrow; he hurt now. This had been a terrible idea. "I'm not stupid, Solo. This whole need for secrecy is somehow tied to your family but let me assure you that I do not care one bit about sludgenews worthy Skywalker gossip. I care because it affects the mission."  
  
Within a blink of an eye, Solo was on his feet too and invading his personal space again. "It doesn't!"  
  
Hux held his ground. "I'll decide that for myself, thank you. I find your assessments to be suspect."  
  
He clenched his jaw and for a moment, Hux thought Solo was going to hit him again. "You think you're smarter than everyone else."  
  
"In this room, yes." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a weight bench tremble and heard something else clatter to the ground. Hux allowed himself the tiniest of smirks. "Careful Solo. You wouldn't want to get a _reputation_."  
  
It left the tall, dark, and angry Jedi in a bind. If he hit Hux or used the Force again, it would be proving his point. That left Solo with looming while Hux folded his arms across his chest and didn’t move an inch. After a few long moments, he exhaled angrily through his nostrils like some beast of burden. “Mom must have been on spice when she said you were a good officer,” he hissed before spinning on his heels and storming off.  
  
Silently, Hux watched Solo leave before shrugging. “Well. At least I know Senator Organa has a good opinion of me,” he said to no one in particular before retrieving his jacket and slinging it over his shoulder as he headed back to his quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so maybe I didn't write much more of the plot but I think I checked at least two more items off my Kylux Bingo Card. Also... what does it say about me that's easier for me to get inside of Hux's head than Ben's? :P


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long! Blame a combination of a busy few weeks and writer's block. As consolation, I think this chapter's a decent bit longer than the rest and there's uhhh a lot going on. Hopefully that helps make up for the wait?

It had been fifteen years since Hux had set foot on Planet MX38 and he certainly wasn’t pleased to be doing so now. MX38 was a ghost town with only half the buildings still there. It had been First Order policy to make as many of their buildings collapsible for transportation especially when it came to any government, academy, or military facilities. Rebuilding every structure from scratch with every move wouldn't have been a sustainable practice for a resource-strained society. Most of those hadn’t so much been structures as they had been landed ships. It wasn’t possible for all of their buildings though and so more often than not, houses were built and abandoned with every base.  
  
He lingered as the rest of the landing party filed off the shuttle, occupying himself with reviewing some files on the built in terminal.  
  
“Did you need something, Major?” the pilot asked, a tan skinned man who looked to be perhaps ten years his senior.  
  
Hux shook his head, switching the terminal off. “No, Lieutenant. Just checking on a few details.” With that, his excuse vanished and he quickly strode down the boarding ramp, lingering at the bottom. Everything seemed to get quiet and the world slowed down as he stepped forward with first one foot and then the other, tiny grey dust clouds appearing where he planted his feet.  
  
Nothing happened. First Order banners didn’t unfurl from the remaining windows, stormtroopers didn’t round the next corner, and his father didn’t appear out of nowhere to berate him for being out of uniform. Hux let out the breath he hadn’t even known he was holding. It felt strange to be home.  
  
He didn't bother checking in on the ground search teams. They knew what they were doing after months of practice. Insisting on high standards for those under his command paid off. Instead, he let his feet carry him where they wanted. Fifteen years away couldn't take away muscle memory. He hated himself for it and yet Hux couldn't stop himself from walking past the empty spot where the Academy Ship had once been landed and towards the house where he'd lived for years. It hadn't been that exact house of course but the layout had never changed. Why waste the innovation of different architecture when brainpower in the First Order was put to better use designing weapons and ships?  
  
He hesitated at the threshold, hating himself for being at the mercy of sentiment. There would be absolutely nothing to see inside the house beside walls. All personal effects were moved each time. It was protocol and protocols were meant to be followed. He’d find nothing here.  
  
This was ridiculous.  
  
With a little sneer that no one else saw, Hux pushed open the door and stepped inside. Nothing happened. Forcing himself to adopt an air of exaggerated calm, he began to walk through the familiar halls. There weren't many fond memories to be found there. They'd only been on that particular planet for a year and a half before he'd left and most of his time had been spent at the Academy but if he let himself, he could almost see his mother sweeping through the living room or his younger brother running through the hallways like the little brat he was. It wasn't until Hux found himself standing before Alys's room, the door he'd last seen when he'd locked her in there so she couldn't stop his escape, that he truly began to feel compromised and hastily retreated right into the Commandant's study simply because it was the furthest away. It wasn’t his smartest plan.  
  
Hux's hands curled into fists as he stood in the middle of a room he'd always hated entering. There were no good memories here nor in any of the other identical rooms on half a dozen other nameless planets. The underlying anger took over so strongly that he didn't even hear Kalin enter the room until she coughed lightly to get his attention. He spun around to face her, instantly hiding his traitorous hands behind his back. "Yes?"  
  
"Everything okay, sir?"  
  
Hux arched an eyebrow at her. "Why wouldn't it be?"  
  
Kalin hesitated, lips parted as if she were about to say something but quickly thought better of it. "Of course, sir." She extended a datapad towards him. "The Starfarers found something you should see."  
  
"Which one?" he asked as he took it.  
  
"Both."  
  
The other eyebrow shot up to join its mate. Jeh and Ilinn Starfarer were one of the rare married military pairs who worked together on a daily basis and did so without drama. They were excellent commandos who specialized in recon and had been invaluable over the last few months. Usually, they each led a squad which made Kalin's clarification moderately troubling. "What am I looking at?"  
  
"It's from one of the designated military buildings carved into the cliff. It looks like a pile of broken droid parts but Ilinn thinks they're a cover for a functional system on the opposite wall."  
  
"That's not out of question for the First Order," Hux said with a frown. “Let’s go.”  
  
The walk to the caverns was a relatively short one. Both squads were waiting for him and somehow, Solo had beaten him there or else just managed to appear like an unwanted loth cat. The group automatically parted so Hux and Kalin could join the Starfarers at the front, both had stayed a good three meters back from the mechanical pile. Both shared the thick black hair and golden skin typical of their homeworld but that was where the similarities mostly halted. Today, however, Jeh's usually jovial expression mirrored his wife's habitual and far more serious one. "Status report."  
  
"I think it's rigged to blow," Ilinn said bluntly without any preamble. Hux glanced at her husband who nodded in agreement. "That gives us a fifty-fifty shot as to whether or not that console actually has valuable information on it."  
  
"Your opinion?"  
  
Ilinn and Jeh exchanged reluctant looks. "It's worth trying to figure out a way past," Jeh said. "The console looks like it's actually functional and not faked. If it was a fake, it should've died years ago."  
  
"You'd have a better idea than we would," Ilinn said.  
  
Hux shrugged almost imperceptibly. "Cadets were kept away from base change protocols but I agree that it's worth the risk."  
  
"I can help with that."  
  
As one, they all turned to look at the Jedi. "I didn't know Jedi could diffuse bombs," Jeh said without any bite in his words.  
  
"Just some of them," Solo replied with a grin. "I was thinking of just moving whatever's between us and the console."  
  
"Would that work?" Hux asked the Starfarers.  
  
Husband and wife exchanged looks. "Hypothetically..."  
  
"As long as the demolitions are in the pile of scrap and not attached to the console," Ilinn clarified.  
  
"It seems to be the best of our options then," Hux said, turning towards Solo. "Well go on," he said with an impatient flick of his fingers. "Use your Force."  
  
Solo glared. "So now that the Force is handy to you, you're okay with it?"  
  
"Only if you get on with it and be useful for once," Hux shot back.  
  
The glare only darkened as he turned away, focusing on the mound of mechanical bits.  
  
"Go slowly," Ilinn cautioned, eyes narrowing as she focused on the wall. Her husband was equally focused, dropping to sit on his heels.  
  
Solo's only response was to nod as he made some theatrical gesture at the mess and the metal began to slowly rise into the air, seemingly of its own accord. It was as if the entire room was holding its breath, even Hux falling prey to the anticipation.  
  
Jeh saw it first. "Solo, wait!"  
  
It was too late. A detonator exploded with enough force to send those nearest flying including the Starfarers and Hux who all landed painfully on the ground about five meters back. Only Solo managed to land on his feet. Ilinn recovered first, clearly dazed, but rolled back up to a kneeling position and aimed her blaster at the small probe droid that had appeared, taking the shot but only hitting one of its trailing limbs. "Take it out but don't damage its memory core!"  
  
Hux was cognizant enough of his own weaknesses to recognize that this was a situation in which he was not helpful. Instead, he just tried to move out of the way as some of uninjured commandos took shots. For some strange reason, the droid didn’t try and fly away… which made far more sense once he saw Solo standing there with a hand extended towards it, face scrunched up with concentration. At a hand signal from Jeh, the commandos halted their barrage and Ilinn leapt at the droid, vibroblade in hand. She pried at the plates with the blade, managing to pull it back just a little and then abandoning the weapon to use both hands. “Anez!”  
  
One of the commandos, a very petite woman, dropped her blaster and darted forward. The droid kept fighting back against the combination of Solo’s Force powers and Ilinn’s pure strength as Anez reached inside and yanked free what looked to be some very specific wires. It abruptly died, held in the air only by the power of Solo’s mind. As he released it, everyone seemed to slump at the same time.  
  
“Did we get it in time?” Jeh asked his wife who in turn looked to Anez who shrugged.  
  
“We’ll need to hook the brain up and get the techs to check but it’s not smoldering or anything.”  
  
Hux stepped forward, feeling a little more in his element now that the blasters and explosions had stopped. “Was it able to send a signal back to the First Order?”  
  
Jeh shrugged. “Droids and computers were never our strength.”  
  
Hux took that as a polite hint to shut up. The wait for a droid technician only took a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. In theory, it gave all of them more time to consider a way forward if they were able to obtain any leads from the droid's memory. Mostly, it just gave Hux more time to remember where exactly he was and feel increasingly irritated by having returned there. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that it took a gentle nudge in the ribs from Kalin to realize that the tech was talking.  
  
"...sent but never made it there," the tech was saying.  
  
"Can you tell where it was going?" Liselle asked, having arrived with the tech.  
  
"Uhm..." The tech fiddled with a few buttons. "If we were in Known Space, I could give you a sector but not a planet."  
  
"Could be worse," Jeh said from where he leaned against the wall.  
  
"And it looks like the droid used to send out weekly all-clear signals that got routed through a chain of satellites."  
  
Ilinn snorted. "It's worse."  
  
"All they'll know is that we came here," Hux countered. "That's hardly galaxy-shattering since I knew these coordinates. Destroy the droid further and they'll have no reason to believe we extracted any data."  
  
Liselle knelt beside the tech, comparing the identified area of space with a map on her own datapad. "I'm not sure this is much as help as we'd hope. Barely any of this is mapped and if we take the _Adamant_ in there..."  
  
Her voice trailed off and everyone was quiet for a minute as they knew exactly what the risks might be. Warships weren't built for exploration or skirting black holes. That was a task better left for...  
  
“I have an idea,” Hux said.  
  
~  
  
The backwater planet they found themselves in orbit around was as nondescript as most of the rest they’d had the misfortune to visit over the last five months. That made it an ideal place for a meet up. Hux made it a point to be waiting in the landing bay to greet the scouting ship. He hadn’t the faintest clue who Tycho had sent to pilot the ship but he had a strong feeling they probably deserved his respect.  
  
A young woman with blonde hair braided into a crown around her head walked down the boarding ramp. Not quite what he expected. She was dressed relatively casually, wearing a flightsuit instead of a New Republic uniform. “Major Hux, I presume?” she asked as soon as she was within earshot. He nodded. “I’m Captain Larissa Celchu.”  
  
Hux shook her hand firmly. “Any relation to—”  
  
“My father,” she replied with a wry smile. Clearly it was a question she was used to answering. “He figured he could trust me to keep my mouth shut.”  
  
“I can’t imagine why,” Hux said dryly.  
  
"Mom has a very good disappointed look," she said before fishing into one of the flightsuit's many pockets and pulling out a handful of datacards. "I'm also supposed to deliver these. They're mostly intelligence reports but a few of these are personal for Ben."  
  
Both eyebrows shot up. "I take it you're also acquainted with our resident Jedi then."  
  
Larissa smiled. "Yep. Ever since--"  
  
She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before the overly enthusiastic Jedi in question entered the hanger bay. "Who let you off base? Don't they have to keep you confined to there?"  
  
"That hasn't happened since I was a lieutenant," she shot back with a broad grin as Solo covered the ground between them in a few long strides, pulling her into a quick hug. "I'll have you know that I'm a respectable XO now."  
  
"I didn't think respectable XOs had their astromechs rigged to serve up cold lomins after a fight," Solo said with a grin.  
  
Larissa punched him in the arm. "Shut it, Solo. At least I didn't cause a diplomatic incident on Kashyyyk."  
  
"Low blow, Rissa, low blow."  
  
Hux blinked. It wasn't like he was ignorant of the Solo brat's ability to be an actual human being. It was just that he saw it so infrequently that he'd convinced himself that it was just an act Solo could put on for the public but if General Celchu's daughter seemed to genuinely like him... No. That train of thought was ridiculous.  
  
Poorly suppressing a grin, Larissa took a step away and cleared her throat. "Anyways. Who are you going to have flying this thing, Major?"  
  
"Captain Ivason has a few of her pilots selected. I'm afraid I don't have their names at the tip of my tongue."  
  
"I'm surprised you don't have their serial numbers memorized," Solo muttered.  
  
Hux ignored him, used to their sniping back and forth by now, but Larissa shoved a few of the datacards at his chest. "Go watch these or something, Benny," she said. "Your mom will kill me if I don't bring a reply back."  
  
"Don't call me that." Solo made a face but took the discs and did as she said.  
  
"You'll have to teach me your secret," Hux drawled.  
  
Larissa raised an eyebrow. "My secret?"  
  
"For how you get him to actually _listen_."  
  
"Ah." The blue eyes she evaluated him with could have been her father's. "There's no real trick to it, Major."  
  
"Titles aren't necessary."  
  
"Only if you call me Larissa," she said with a smile which he acknowledged with a nod as they began walking towards the door. "But there's no real trick to it, Hux." Clearly Tycho had mentioned his dislike of his given name. "Ben and I have just known each other for ages. He only ever does what he wants to."  
  
"That's abundantly clear."  
  
Larissa shrugged, brushing an invisible fleck of dust off her flightsuit arm. "We're children of the Rebellion. Silently saluting isn't really our thing. And hey if our positions were reversed, you'd probably be ready to kick me off your ship after finding a stuffed ewok sitting at your desk for the fifth time." His expression must have been incredulous because she laughed and shook her head. "They're one of my uncle's signatures pranks; don't ask."  
  
"I'm almost scared to," Hux said dryly.  
  
"Probably wise," she agreed. "Point is, you get used to him. I’m glad it's you who got this duty though and not me."  
  
"How much do you know?"  
  
"Just the basics but I can put together enough to be happy you're dropping me off during your next supply run."  
  
"Are you sure you don't want to join us? I'm sure we could use a starfighter pilot of your caliber."  
  
Larissa laughed. "I'll pass but if you could point me in the direction of your mess hall...?"  
  
"I can escort you there myself."  
  
~  
  
This was not how this was supposed to go. When Ben had jumped into the long-range scout ship, it had seemed like a good idea. He'd paid attention when Larissa had briefed the pilots on its controls. Maybe he wasn't the best pilot in the galaxy but he knew how to fly. That wasn't the problem.  
  
For over a month now, he'd felt her in the back of his mind. It was almost like what Snoke had used to feel like before he even had a name for the dark sider but not exactly. No, it was like she was taunting him and reminding him that he couldn't beat her even though everything about them said he should be able to. Every taunt she sent him was a mistake though. They could help him find her and he could neutralize her out and end that threat to the New Republic.  
  
That was what he’d thought would happen.  
  
All he'd actually managed to do was follow her Force presence straight into an ambush. The scouting ship had been damaged and their ships had forced him down on to some unknown planet. Crashing wasn't fun. Actually, it really hurt. It'd taken him more than a few minutes to shake the fog clear from his head and drag himself out of the ship's cockpit and out on to the surface. He'd landed (crashed) on a desert planet. He hated desert planets. This was all just very—  
  
"Sithspawn," Ben groaned as the ships that had shot him down landed very near by and half a dozen Knights of Ren emerged from them. "Can we just skip this part?" None of them responded and they merely drew their weapons and formed a loose half circle around him. He hid a grimace and his lightsaber flew into his hand, still unlit. "Are you waiting for an invitation?"  
  
The sound of footsteps on a boarding ramp made him freeze and slowly turn to look towards one of their ships, dread in his heart even though this is what he'd come looking for. It was impossible to tell who was beneath the black robes and behind the mask but he knew. He just knew. He could _feel_ it. Her knights didn't move a muscle as she entered the circle to stand two meters away from him. They stared at each other.  
  
"Kyla Ren."  
  
"Ben Solo."  
  
"You forgot the Organa part," he deadpanned. "It's Ben _Organa_ Solo. Hux hates me and even he doesn't forget that part."  
  
He could almost feel the frown. "Who?"  
  
"Hux," Ben repeated like she was dumb. "Major Hux. His dad is one of yours in the First Order or something."  
  
"Why are you looking for me?" The change of subject was abrupt and no less startling because of the mechanical vocalizer.  
  
"Because you wanted me to," he said with a shrug.  
  
"Did I?"  
  
A hint of a plea entered his voice as he tried to lock eyes with the nothingness of the mask. "I could feel it, Kyla."  
  
"You almost sound like Skywalker."  
  
Ben could feel the rage boiling within him at how dismissive she was of everything. "So he's just Skywalker now and not--"  
  
She cut him off, lightsaber appearing in her hand as she ignited both ends. "Do you really want to die so badly, Ben?"  
  
"Do you?" he countered, igniting his own green blade.  
  
Kyla laughed. "You can’t kill me. You won't."  
  
This was all so stupid. He was twice her size and had years more training than she did. She just had the dark side. And back up. And the advantage. And he was already injured. And this was all really stupid and he had a feeling that he might die in the middle of some nameless desert and his mom was going to kill him for dying without her permission.  
  
The Knights of Ren held back, maintaining the perimeter around them. Fighting an opponent with a double bladed saber was strange and Ben definitely didn't like it but he really didn't get much of a say in the matter. In some ways, he thought it worked to his advantage. It slowed her down and she couldn't actually come at him with both blades at once. He had to move fast though and it was painfully obvious that he hadn't sparred with anyone but droids in months.  
  
As they fought, he could feel his anger grow but he couldn't force himself to shove it down and away. Anger gave him strength and he needed that strength to beat her and this wasn't a battle he could lose. Ben had to end this and he had to end it now.  
  
Apparently Kyla had the same thought as she stepped up her attacks. A solidly placed kick combined with the Force knocked him down and left him gasping for air. It took him a moment to clamber back up to one knee.  
  
Insultingly, she turned her back on him, returning her lightsaber to her belt. "Deal with him," Kyla Ren said as she walked back to her ship.  
  
Ben was good and he knew he was good but even he wasn't good enough to fight six Knights of Ren at once. None of them were as strong in the Force as he was. That was a given. They weren't Skywalkers. Even his uncle couldn't fight off so many at once though unless maybe he could but that was something he'd never know.  
  
The fight was mostly a blur. There was never a moment to rest as they attacked him two at a time, coming in to strike as soon as others fell back. He wanted to forget it because it was humiliating to be beaten so soundly. At least he took two of them out before he found the ground again. Could people even bleed from so many places without being dead? The sound of an approaching ship was the last thing he remembered before he gave in to the darkness.  
  
~  
  
The biggest question on Hux's mind at the moment was how much trouble he'd get in for murdering a certain Jedi... assuming someone hadn't already done the job for him. Stunts like this were exactly why he had objected to Ben Organa Solo's presence aboard the _Adamant_ from the very start. He'd stolen the kriffing scout ship that had most certainly not been easy for General Celchu to get his hands on and all because he thought the damned galaxy revolved around him. If Hux didn't need that ship back and if he wasn't certain that both Tycho and Leia would be beyond disappointed in him, he would have left Solo on his own to die but no. No, instead he had to abandon their primary mission to find the First Order and chase that stupid brat halfway across the Unknown Regions because he thought he knew better than everyone else.  
  
He paced back and forth on the bridge, focusing on keeping his expression perfectly neutral so not a hint of irritation slipped through. They'd come out of hyperspace and picked up on the scout ship's signal almost immediately... along with the automatic distress call. Teravo hadn't even waited for the order and dispatched a shuttle down to assess the situation. Hux had sent Captain Ivason and three of her pilots down as escort as soon as he saw a recently destroyed starfighter float by the viewport. All there was left to do was to wait and stew in his fury.  
  
Kalin came to stand beside him and casually handed him a datapad. "A few reports for your review, Major."  
  
"Now is not really the time, Lieutenant," he replied curtly.  
  
Most people would have immediately backed away. "Respectfully sir... I disagree."  
  
Pursing his lips, Hux didn't respond further and began flipping through the reports. Within moments, he was completely focused on the numbers within, making a few edits here and there. It took another five minutes for him to realize what Kalin had so deftly done. He'd stopped pacing and even Teravo looked slightly more at ease. Perhaps that was something he could train himself to improve at... being more comfortable during those long periods of just waiting for something to happen.  
  
"We have multiple signals coming from the surface!" an ensign said a little too excitedly.  
  
"Ours?" Hux asked a little sharper than intended.  
  
"Not sure yet, sir," the twi'lek replied, frowning as she looked at the screens before her. "It looks like there's four... no five ships... leaving the surface... Two of them are our X-Wings but the other three are--"  
  
"Shields up!" Hux ordered, not even letting her finish. "Open communications with our starfighters and get me an update on what the hell happened to Solo!" The shields on the enemy ships must have been strong because despite more a few well-landed hits by the X-Wings, they quickly made the jump to hyperspace, leaving behind a ship full of frustrated soldiers who watched their second lead in months vanish. Hux wasn't immune to it. He allowed himself 15 seconds of self-pity before returning to business. "I want a status report from the planet."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another nervous ensign approaching with a datapad in hand before he was smoothly intercepted by both Teravo and Kalin who sent him back to his station. Teravo quickly took in the tersely written report. "They found Solo and the ship. They're both pretty beat up."  
  
“It’s a shame about the ship,” Hux replied, voice low enough so it wouldn’t carry. “Ele, take the bridge. Kalin, with me.”  
  
Solo was the last one out of the shuttle, looking like he’d been to hell and back and brought a little bit of hell back with him. A small part of Hux was glad. “What in the nine hells did you think you were doing?”  
  
“Finding the Knights of Ren,” Solo replied tersely, limping.  
  
Hux took two quick strides to cut him off. “And you have nothing to show for it. All you’ve succeeded in doing is destroying the only chance we had at finding and stopping the First Order before they can strike.”  
  
“Kyla Ren was here,” Solo said, anger breathing some life back into him. “You could’ve stopped her too.”  
  
“And maybe we would have if there had been a plan and you hadn’t run off like some half-cocked brat!”  
  
“You can take all of your plans and shove them up your—”  
  
“Sir, I have insist that you come with us to medbay.” Both men turned as one to fix the medic who’d interrupted them with irritated looks. The doctor didn’t flinch and held her ground. “You’re still running on adrenaline and given that you’re a rather large person, we’d prefer not to carry you there.”  
  
Hux could have sworn that the Jedi smirked. “Sorry, Hux. You’ll have to wait. Doctor’s orders.”  
  
He narrowed his blue eyes as he grudgingly stepped aside. “This conversation isn’t over.”  
  
Solo didn’t even bother to respond as the medics escorted him away. Well, except for the rude gesture.  
  
“Lieutenant,” Hux started shortly. “I’m going to need—”  
  
“—the reports of all of our interaction and combat with the Knights of Ren as soon as they’re ready if not sooner,” Kalin interrupted him.  
  
“Exactly.”  
  
~  
  
He was dealing with those very reports late the next day when the source of his continued ire burst into his office without knocking. “You want to finish this?” Solo demanded.  
  
“I don’t have time for you right now,” Hux said with forced calm. “Besides, you should still be in medbay.”  
  
“I heal fast,” Solo replied, leaning forward on his desk. “You’re the one who said this wasn’t over, Hux, so let’s finish this because I have better things to do.”  
  
“Like what? Steal another one of my ships? Storm off in a useless huff? Destroy another training room?”  
  
“Like find Kyla Ren and stop her!”  
  
Dry sarcasm dominated his tone. “Because that worked so well for you last time.” The next moment, Hux found himself pulled to his feet by the front of his uniform as Solo lost his temper. “Release me. Now.” Surprisingly, the younger man complied but didn’t back off an inch. “I have more important work to deal with than to take you to task for your continued incompetence.”  
  
“I thought that was your favorite thing to do.”  
  
“What I _like_ ,” Hux said through gritted teeth as he stepped out from behind the desk, “is actually commanding this ship.” He slapped the door controls. “Now get out.”  
  
Solo raised an eyebrow at him as he turned around and leaned against the desk and shook his head. “No.”  
  
It was that defiant, little smirk that made Hux finally lose it. He grabbed fistfuls of shirt and slammed the taller man up against the nearest wall. “You’re an intolerable brat.”  
  
“And you’re a pompous jackass,” Solo shot back.  
  
And there it was again; that little smirk. The next thing he knew, Hux was pressing his lips against Solo’s and a second after that, he pulled away. Solo’s face looked as surprised as he felt. “Sorry,” Hux muttered, loosening his grip on the shirt. He didn’t have a chance to let go before Solo pulled him in for another hard kiss. Instinct kicked in and he threw logic to the wind as he kissed him back, skull making a dull thunk as it collided with the wall. Solo’s hands seemed to flail around for a moment before finally settling on Hux’s waist, pulling him in closer even as Hux ran his fingers through that unruly, dark hair.  
  
This wasn’t a scenario Hux could have ever predicted. Certainly he had appreciated the Jedi’s physique once or twice in the past but his musings had never gone so far as wondering if Solo also preferred other men much less whether the two of them might end up here. None of this made sense and yet he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to break things off except—  
  
“The door,” Hux said when they broke apart.  
  
“What about it?” Solo asked distractedly, turning his attention to Hux’s neck.  
  
“We need to lock it, you idiot!” Reluctantly, Hux pulled away so he could go enter in his personal code. Not even Kalin would be able to override it. Solo was too impatient to wait and his mouth was on his again before he could even step away from the door.  
  
The room was suddenly very hot and Hux hastily undid the closures on his uniform jacket before pulling it off and letting it drop on a chair as neatly as he could. Solo must have seen it and he broke away laughing. “Seriously, Hux? Did you want to fold it?”  
  
“Shut up.” The truth was that he did but Hux wasn’t about to give Solo that satisfaction. Instead, he began tugging at the Jedi’s shirt, surprised when Solo obediently lifted his arms so Hux could pull it off and reveal the very nice chest and abdomen muscles that had lain hidden beneath. He still hated the younger man but that certainly wasn’t going to stop him from appreciating the body before him with both his mouth and hands. Judging by the quiet noises Solo was making, he didn’t seem to mind either.  
  
There was no deliberate thought involved as Hux let his hands drift down that very muscular chest and to the waistband of the Jedi’s pants. He brushed a palm over that bulge there, making his intentions very clear before he locked eyes with Solo. “We can stop,” he said.  
  
“And have you go back to yelling at me about the ship?” Solo countered with that smirk again. “Hell no.”  
  
Just for that, Hux decided as he sunk to his knees, hands busy, he was going to be a tease. He’d just have to see if he could make Ben Organa Solo beg.


	7. Chapter 7

For some strange reason, Hux didn’t feel inclined to work in his office the next morning. Maybe it had something to do with how he just couldn’t get the image of Solo’s naked body out of his mind every time he looked up at the wall by the door. It wasn’t something he was ashamed of—Hux had moved past that nonsense back in his First Order Academy days. Sex was sex. Thinking about Solo and the enthusiastic but somewhat less than refined way he kissed was just distracting. Recalling the sounds he’d made was even more so.

After half an hour of fruitless attempts, Hux finally gathered up his datapad and files and headed to the bridge because working there was bound to be more productive. Teravo raised an eyebrow at him. “Major. I thought you weren’t on shift for another two hours.”

“The bridge is still yours, Captain,” Hux said with a nod, claiming one of the empty consoles for himself. “Just wanted someplace to work that wasn’t my office this morning.”

“You need a hobby, Hux,” Teravo said, shaking his head with amusement. “I hear sleeping’s a good one.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that same rumor.”

Still chuckling to himself, Teravo turned back to his own work and letting Hux focus on his.

The change of venue did the trick. For three blissful hours, Hux got work done and didn’t once think about the Jedi he’d slept with. A few low ranking officers exchanged confused looks when they saw him sitting there but no one said a word except for Kalin who remarked that the alteration to his usually clockwork regular schedule was surprising and she would appreciate some warning next time. Normalcy was back.

Around mid-morning, that went out the viewport. Solo slunk back on to the bridge, uncharacteristically subdued. Kalin raised an inquiring eyebrow at Hux who merely shrugged and turned back to his work. He was officially on duty now and there was plenty of it. The Jedi had been lurking on his bridge for a solid fifteen minutes before Hux finally whirled around and fixed him with a stern glare. “Did you need something, Solo?”

“There’s uhh… I think I found something in the maps.”

It was such a poor lie that Hux didn’t need to have special powers to see through it. “Discuss it with Afyon then.”

“I think you need to see it first.”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he jerked his head in the direction of the doors, not waiting to see if the other man would follow him. When the door to a small, nearby command room hissed shut behind them and locked, he asked exasperatedly, “What?”

Solo looked at his feet and mumbled, “I thought we should talk.”

It was like dealing with a fresh cadet all over again and Hux was in no mood to make it easy for him. “About what?”

“About what happened last night?”

“About the sex?” He could’ve sworn that Solo’s cheeks flushed pink. “Why would we need to discuss it? We’re both adults. What needs to be said?”

The younger man ran a hand through his messy black hair. “I thought that since we’re—and since we don’t—”

“The last time I checked, there are no planets on which a blow job equates to a marriage proposal.”

Solo’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve actually—” Calling the look Hux gave him ‘withering’ would have been an understatement. “Oh.”

“You’re lucky that you’re pretty,” Hux said dryly, almost cracking an amused smile as the other man most definitely blushed this time. “It was just sex, Solo, and it certainly doesn’t mean that I like you now. I still think that you needlessly complicate every step of this mission with your lack of discipline and inability to listen to orders. I just happen to now know that you can use the word ‘please’ and the sounds you make when you’re desperate to come.”

The Jedi looked shocked. To be fair, Hux supposed that he would feel the same if their positions were reversed. The words that had just left his mouth undoubtedly didn’t fit with Solo’s mental image of him. It was almost funny. Solo paced back and forth for a few steps before stopping abruptly to face him. “But we—look, we kriffed and doesn’t it--”

“Come now,” Hux said, finally growing exasperated. “Don’t act like this was your first time. I could tell it wasn’t. Although…” He narrowed his eyes. “Was that your first time with another man?”

Solo immediately got defensive. “No!” He flushed red and looked down at his shoes. “It was my second.”

“Of course it was,” Hux muttered to himself. Of course he had to abandon his good reason and sleep with not only someone he hated but someone inexperienced and clearly uncomfortable with the idea of a one-night stand. Congratulations to him on the occasion of getting into such a fine mess this time. This was why he rarely wasted time on such affairs. “That’s irrelevant now though. I ask you again… what else needs to be discussed?”

If Hux were another person, he would’ve identified the way Solo abashedly shuffled his feet as ‘cute.’ Thankfully he wasn’t. “Nothing,” he muttered, finally looking up again. “I still hate you too and you said this was a one time thing so…”

Hux shrugged. “If it happens again, it happens again. I’m sure it won’t.”

~

It happened again. And then another time. And then a fourth time. The fifth time, Hux pushed Solo off with a sound of annoyance. “Get off.”

The look Solo gave him was one of pure confusion. “Do you not want to…”

“We are not doing this in my office anymore,” Hux said decidedly. “I actually have work to do here.” The Jedi looked like a kicked lothcat. “There are better places for this sort of activity,” he explained slowly, as if to a child. “Places with beds.”

Dark eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! So uhhh my room or yours?”

“Yours,” Hux replied, smoothing back his hair. “It’s slightly closer.”

Solo frowned. “Really?”

“I know my own ship, Solo!” Hux snapped peevishly.

“Ever considered finding some sort of stress release?” Solo shot back sarcastically. “I hear that a good lay can help with that.”

“That’s on you to deliver then, isn’t it?” Hux countered, straightening his uniform jacket. “Now. You go first and I’ll follow two minutes behind.”

“Why?”

“Because my crew doesn’t need to know about my affairs.”

“Oh we’re an affair now?”

“Just go already!”

Solo smirked and threw the world’s worst salute. “Sir yes sir!”

As Hux waited his specified two minutes, he began questioning his judgment for deciding to continue these trysts. That didn’t stop him from opening the unlocked door to the Jedi’s quarters and it certainly didn’t it stop Solo from immediately grabbing him and pressing him up against the wall, kissing him roughly. Hux wasted no time, tugging the other man’s shirt up and off and reaching for his pants. Their current activity may be a good form of stress release but Hux did still have work to do that evening. Clearly emboldened by their previous encounters, Solo grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head with one large hand, making Hux roll his hips against his, struggling against the bonds. It was a token struggle only. It felt good to be so overwhelmed by Solo…or at least it did until the Jedi removed his hand and Hux still couldn’t move his arms. “Release me,” he growled.

“But you look good like this,” Solo replied with that ridiculous lopsided smile, tossing Hux’s belt to the side.

Hux licked his lips and locked gazes with him. “I have plans, you brat, and they’re plans I think you’ll rather enjoy.”

He raised a challenging eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Release me and you’ll find out.”

“Not even a hint?”

Hux shifted as much as he could, pants uncomfortably tight. “Have you ever been kriffed so hard that you saw stars when you came?”

There was a hitch in Solo’s breath and suddenly Hux could move again. He took advantage, backing Solo right up until his knees hit the bed and he overbalanced, falling backwards and taking Hux with him. Somehow, in a flurry of movement, they both lost what was left of their clothing. There was just something about this stupid man that made Hux want to explore every inch of him with his mouth. He moved down that muscular body methodically, going from his neck, down his chest, his hips, his thighs and then—

“Shavit!” The curse was little more than a strangled sound as Hux found a particularly sensitive spot on the inside of his thigh. Encouraged, Hux sucked at that same spot hard enough to bruise, counteracting the gesture with a finger lightly trailing up the inside of his other leg. The noise Solo made wasn’t even close to forming into a word and his hands grabbed at Hux’s hair.

Annoyed, Hux slapped the other man’s wrist away. “We discussed this.”

“Sorry,” Solo managed, moving both hands away.

Hux sat back on his heels, enjoying the sight before him. “Flip over.”

“Why?”

“I wasn’t speaking metaphorically before.”

“Oh.” A range of emotions flickered across the younger man’s face and he hesitated, the most unsure he’d ever seen him.

Mentally, Hux sighed. He kept forgetting how inexperienced Solo was when it came to some of this. There was no reason not to at least try to be reassuring. “We can stop any time.” The hesitance was still there so Hux forced his tone and expression to soften. “Trust me.”

Solo frowned ever so slightly, locking eyes with him and seeming to look through him. “Okay.”

Mentally, Hux began revising his previous plans as he retrieved a small bottle from his pants pocket, taken from his desk drawer earlier. So fine. He’d have to be…nicer. Rough could be another day. It was a good thing they were doing this on a bed and not on his desk and not just because he’d never be able to look at his desk again.

By the time Hux had returned to the bed, Solo had turned over, fingers nervously tapping against a pillow. “Relax,” Hux murmured, kissing his way down his spine slowly and deliberately. He could feel Solo’s muscles comply as he worked his way down. Good. There was no point in doing any of this if either one of them weren’t enjoying it.

“Why do you get to be on top?” Solo asked, tone borderline whining and clearly back to his usual self.

“Because I know what I’m doing,” Hux replied matter-of-factly, warming the bottle between his hands. “Pay attention and maybe you’ll learn something.”

Hux considered it a compliment that Solo definitely wasn’t thinking clearly enough to learn anything that night.

~

"So how much worse off are we now?" Teravo asked from his usual spot on one of the conference room's couches.

"That's the point of this meeting," Liselle replied, not looking up from her datapad.

"I know," he replied with a good-natured shrug. "Figured I'd start us out with a good, decisive opener."

Hux felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. "Helpful as always, Ele."

"Just being a good XO."

"To Teravo's question, where are we?" Hux directed his question to the room. Their usual gathering was slightly larger than usual today. "I’d like to be able to report some good news back to base. Drax, how are the repairs going?"

The seemingly ancient mechanic shrugged from his spot near the door, clearly uncomfortable with being present. "My gearheads are doing what we can to fix the ship up but we're not miracle workers."

"Sorry," Solo muttered from his seat at the far end of the room. "Didn't mean for any of that to happen."

Drax shrugged. "Seen worse back in my day. It'd be easier if we had more parts to work with."

"Anything readily obtainable?" Drax nodded and Hux nodded towards his aide. "Give Kalin a list. We'll see what we can do at the next supply stop. We won’t keep you any longer if you’d prefer to return to your work.” The mechanic hastily saluted and disappeared. “Liselle, what were you able to learn from the bodies?"  
  
The blonde rose to her feet and tapped a few buttons on the table's holoprojector, bringing up the morgue scans. "They weren't carrying any maps marked with an X for the First Order base." Teravo snorted. "But we did get a few hints." She nodded towards Solo. "Our resident Jedi was kind enough to assist."

"She's being nice," Solo said dryly.

Liselle shrugged and carried on. "Our deceased Knights of Ren are one human and one zabrak; both females who appear to be somewhere in their twenties and that's about all I can give you on that front since I'm not a forensics specialist."

"What?" Teravo teased. "No detailed report on the cause of death?"

"Lightsaber wounds," Solo deadpanned. The exchange got a chuckle from everyone in the room.

Hux raised an eyebrow. "And the leads?"

"Calling them leads might be generous," Liselle admitted. "They were both incredibly well armed. The masks seem to be laced with cortosis mesh and one of them had a bracer made from it but none of the rest of their clothes or armor was. That suggests several possible options. Either they're drawing from a very small reserve of cortosis or these were discovered items or these two were low ranking enough in the Knights of Ren and didn't warrant full protection."

"I think it's the first one," Solo broke in. "Their only hierarchy is that Kyla Ren is their master."

"If that's the case, we may be able to backtrack them through the cortosis acquisition. Same goes for their weapons as these look fairly specialized. Two isn't a large sample size but my best guess is we're looking for a planet in the Mid or Outer Rim along the Corellian Run corridor. It doesn't narrow it down as much as I'd like."

While his expression remained impassive, Hux wanted to scream because of course it would be a section of space where his homeworld and his father's Academy had been. He hadn't returned to that dreary planet since they'd fled Known Space after the Battle of Jakku but of course it was among the possibilities. Everything always had to come back to the bastard.

"It would get us back in mapped space," Kalin said.

Liselle nodded noncommittally. "If we really want to get IDs on these women, we can send genetic samples back to base but I'm not sure how much help knowing their names would be."

Teravo laughed, shaking his head. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. "Sorry but you're looking at this from such a human point of view that it's just funny." None of them wanted to make eye contact. "Humans are on almost every planet-- it's easy for you to forget that some species aren't quite as spread out." He rose to his feet and zoomed in on the image of the zabrak, focusing on her face. "Those tattoos? They're clan ones."

"How does figuring out her clan or even her homeworld help us?" Hux asked. "I agree with Liselle—I don't think knowing her name helps."

"It does if she's Dathomiri."

Blank looks reigned except from Solo who sat bolt upright. "Oh!'

Teravo nodded. "The Jedi gets it."

Liselle frowned. "Enlighten the rest of us?"

Teravo and Solo exchanged glances before the Jedi spoke, uncharacteristically serious. "Dathomir has an unusually high population of Force users."

“Yes…”

“And we know that Ren is recruiting what Force sensitives that she can find.”

“Do we?” Hux asked mildly.

The look that Solo shot his way was a remarkable level of irritated and unimpressed. “Yeah we do. I do. So we can try and figure out her clan and if the Knights of Ren have recruited enough from there, someone probably slipped up at some point and left a trail.”

Hux and Liselle exchanged looks that communicated more than words could have in such a brief time. She raised an eyebrow and he tilted his head ever so slightly to the right. “We can suggest it to General Celchu,” Hux finally said. “I’d like to get his opinion before going after such a wild lead—”

“As opposed to the ones we’ve been chasing?” Teravo interrupted.

He continued as if he hadn’t even heard. “And I’d like to have some more definitive to report about the status of our scout ship. Are there any objections?” Only the Jedi looked like he did but that was likely an argument they’d be having later. “Good. Fix that ship and give me a plan that I can present to the General.”

~  
  
It was about three weeks into their little habit when they almost slipped up for the first time. In retrospect, it was rather impressive that they’d managed for as long as that given that half of the secret was the decidedly unsubtle Jedi Knight. Hux never stayed after their encounters. Staying would turn it into something else entirely. He’d just finished pulling his boots back on and had palmed open the door when he almost ran smack into his aide. “Kalin!”

“Uhh… Major.” Her dark eyes were wide with surprise. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”

In the room behind him, he heard a muffled curse and the sound of Solo fumbling for his clothes. “And I’d prefer not to be,” Hux said smoothly, stalling for time. “Unfortunately, our resident Jedi Knight and I had some unfinished business to discuss after the meeting earlier. What is it that brings you here? Problem on the bridge?”

She shook her head. “No, sir. I’m actually looking for Ben. A message came in for him and he hasn’t been answering his comlink.”

“Yeah I think I lost it in the training room earlier,” Solo cut in, apparently having found some clothes. “Figured I’d look for it tomorrow.”

“Try not to be so careless with your equipment,” Hux said sharply, stepping out of the room. “Our resources are limited.”

Solo waved his warning off. “Whatever. Who’s the message from?”

“Security protocols look like they’re from the Senator’s office.”

He groaned. “I better go deal with Mom then. She’s always hated waiting.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Hux said under his breath, making a moderately paced yet deliberate exit. He wasn’t running away… he was making a calculated retreat.

Retreat only lasted so long unfortunately. He had a standing meeting with his aide at the end of ever day shift for them to go over anything that might have fallen through the cracks. It had proven useful over the years. That day, it felt like the most painful thing ever. As they finished the last item on the list, Hux pushed his datapad to the side and sat back. "Was there anything else, Lieutenant?"

Kalin uncharacteristically hesitated before saying diplomatically, "Nothing else regarding the _Adamant_ , sir." Hux raised an eyebrow at her and she set her datapad down resignedly. "No decor?"

"No decor," he confirmed.

"Is there anything I need to be aware of?"

Hux kept his expression perfectly neutral. Avoiding the conversation was impossible but he saw no reason to just flip open the book. "Such as?"

"Please don't make me say it."

"Say what?"

"Hux..." He didn't blink. Finally, Kalin folded her arms across her chest. "Is there something going on with you and Ben Solo that I need to know about?"

He checked the time. "17 hours. I admire your self-restraint."

"I'm not a person prone to gossip."

"I know."

"But I have to ask."

He sighed. "I can't fault you there. I'm sure I'd be curious if I were in your boots."

Kalin looked at him expectantly. "So?"

"It's nothing," Hux said. "Solo and I have simply... found another way to settle our differences."

A broad grin appeared on her usually neutral face. "Oh is that what they're calling it now?"

Hux could feel his face start to flush and he waved towards the door. "Out! I have work to do."

The perfect salute Kalin gave was marred only by the blatantly mischievous grin. "Sir yes sir!"

He was already starting to regret some of his life choices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sure hope no one's reading this in hopes of steamy Kylux smut because l o l. I'll go back to my snarky banter world now. It's safer there. 
> 
> In all seriousness though, thank you to the readers who keep sticking with me despite the delays in getting new chapters up recently. <3


	8. Chapter 8

“I have _got_ to stop letting you distract me like this,” Hux grumbled, head hitting the pillow.  
  
“You weren’t complaining a few minutes ago,” Solo said, hand drifting up his thigh.   
  
Hux smacked it away. “You’re incorrigible.” A soft _ding_ caught his attention and he cocked his head to the side. “Is that my datapad?” The Jedi shrugged, more focused on trying to distract him than actually answering the question. “I should check that—there’s probably work to be done.”  
  
Solo’s response was muffled. “No there’s not.”  
  
“There’s always work.” With a sigh, Solo waved a hand in the vague direction of their scattered clothing and the device flew into his hand. Hux raised an eyebrow. “Imagine that, you can be useful.” His hand started wandering again and batted away again. Hux frowned as he skimmed over the new messages and reports. “Why must all of these reach my desk?”  
  
“Leave ’em until tomorrow.”  
  
“I can’t.”  
  
“Can too.”  
  
Sighing, he swung his legs off the bed, glancing at the haphazardly thrown clothing. “Be useful and find my trousers.” A second later, the requested article of clothing hit him in the face. “You’re such a child.”  
  
Solo shrugged and flopped on to his back, watching as Hux quickly dressed. “You can stay if you want.”  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Hux replied out of habit, leaving without another word. He didn’t bother going all the way back to his office, instead opting for his quarters. It didn’t matter where the work was done as long as it got done. The downside was that it was far easier to let himself give into the call of sleep with his bed so near, getting an hour more sleep than usual before he had to wake for his shift.  
  
Most days, Kalin’s default expression was what Hux would call professionally serious. It was one that any good officer mastered eventually. As she approached him on the bridge later that morning, he was moderately surprised to see that she was actually frowning. “Is there an issue, Lieutenant?”  
  
“Priority message for you, sir,” she said shortly, handing him a datapad. “Biometrically secured.”   
  
Almost immediately he had a frown to match hers. Silently, he took the device from Kalin and let it scan both his thumbprint and retina. The blank screen flashed once and glowing words appeared on it: _Identity confirmed: Hux, Brendol A._ But the oddest part was still to come.  
  
“That look’s never good, Major.”  
  
“No…” Hux said thoughtfully, rereading the message again. “It’s not.” With the tap of a few buttons, he sent a set of data to her datapad. “Reset our course for these coordinates and have Solo meet me in the briefing room.”  
  
“Time frame?”  
  
“Now.”  
  
He only had to wait ten minutes before Solo arrived. “You won’t stay more than fifteen minutes afterwards last night but now you’re summoning me in the middle of the day. How sweet, Hux.”  
  
“Shut up and sit down,” Hux snapped. Shockingly, the Jedi complied. He slid the datapad across the table to him, message still glowing. “Read that.”  
  
Brow furrowed, he quickly skimmed the few lines of text. "Okay, so Mom wants to see us. So what?"  
  
"That," Hux explained slowly, as if to a child, "is not a polite summons from a Senator. That is a stern military summons from a superior officer with a tone that indicates he is not pleased."   
  
Solo shrugged. "So Tycho wants to see us. Hux, it’ll be fine.”  
  
“It will not be fine,” Hux said through gritted teeth. “Go be useless somewhere else if you don’t want to help figure a way out of this.”  
  
“There’s nothing to figure out,” Solo said as he left, making a moderately rude gesture.  
  
As loathe as Hux was to admit it, Solo had a point. He tried to pull any data he thought could possibly be helpful in defending their course of action to find the First Order and gave up by the second day of their week-long hyperspace journey to meet Tycho. There was no way to prepare for this. He’d have to let their actions speak for themselves which could be the problem. The rest of the week was spent as a pile of nerves in human form. He couldn’t concentrate on his work and even his usual fail-safe centering exercise (the ship’s sniper simulator) didn’t help. Regulating his breathing and calming his mind well enough to take a very precise shot felt impossible. Most of his days were spent staring at the galaxy map, trying to figure out where they’d gone wrong and the rest of his time was spent shutting the door in the Jedi's face every time he stopped by for a "chat."  
  
He felt more nervous than he had since going to his first posting as Hux and Ben walked side by side into the room Tycho had specified on some backwater planet that he didn’t care to recall the name of. They weren't the first to meet with him. A core group of the _Adamant's_ more senior officers and those more heavily involved in the hunt had also been instructed to speak with the General including Teravo and Kalin. Waiting had been akin to torture. He could feel the brush of _something_ against his thoughts; like a calming river trying to pull him in to the flow. It was odd. Eyes narrowed, he glanced over at Ben who responded with a grin. "Cut it out," he hissed under his breath.  
  
"Just trying to help," the Jedi replied.  
  
"Well don't."  
  
Tycho greeted them with a faint smile. "Hux, Ben. Good to see both of you."  
  
"Likewise, sir," Hux replied tersely, back ramrod straight.   
  
"I'm concerned about the reports I've been receiving," Tycho said bluntly, cutting right to the chase. “Frankly, I’m not sure which version of events to believe as they’re both overflowing with bias. I thought that speaking to the crew might clarify things but all I’ve been able to discern is that the two of you fight more than a pair of gundarks. Your aide was particularly loyal though.” He nodded towards Hux. “Getting Lieutenant Werth to say more than ‘yes, no, or I really couldn’t say, sir’ was an impossible task.”  
  
Inwardly, Hux smirked. He’d have to ask Kalin about it later.  
  
“And none of this is even taking into account the destroyed scout ship.”  
  
“Our mechanics are working on that,” Hux broke in.  
  
“So your report said.”  
  
Solo slouched. “It was my fault, Tycho.”  
  
Both Hux’s and Tycho’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the admission. The General recovered first. “That may be the only point on which your reports agree which seems to be almost a metaphor for how this partnership is going.” He held up a datapad. “Every single one of these casts blame on the other person for why you haven’t succeeded yet. I’m curious as to why.”  
  
Solo broke first. “We should have found them already!”  
  
“And I’m sure you have a person in mind for why we haven’t,” Hux drawled back.  
  
“Because you won’t let us hunt down the Knights of Ren!”  
  
“How precisely how well did that work for you last time?”  
  
“I got closer than we were before!”  
  
“We’d be closer if you’d just stuck to the plan!”  
  
“You didn’t have a plan!”  
  
“As opposed to what? Your brilliant, suicidal chase after Kyla Ren?”  
  
“It wasn’t—”  
  
“Chasing only Ren is a waste of our efforts. The First Order is more than her.”  
  
“I don’t care!”  
  
“That’s not the way the galaxy works, Solo.”  
  
“Stop.” The bickering pair silenced instantly and turned to look at Tycho. He looked between them, intensity in his blue eyes. “Leia and I didn’t expect that this would be easy. You’re two very different people with very distinct styles but we thought you could move past that for the greater cause.”  
  
Hux felt his mouth go dry. “Sir—” He didn’t get any further before Tycho silenced him with a single disappointed look.  
  
“You’re either going to have to figure out how to work together or I’ll reassign this mission to someone else.”  
  
The threat of failure made Hux’s mouth snap shut and everything about his bearing reverted to the blankness his father had drilled into him from such an early age. He’d been right to worry. The first real assignment of importance he’d been given by this blind Republic and now it could be taken away because he couldn’t get the job done. He could hear the note of desperation in his voice. “We’ll complete the mission, sir. Whatever it takes.”  
  
“We can find them, Tycho,” Ben said, leaning forward to rest his fists on the table. “Just give us more time.”  
  
“We may not have much time,” the Alderaanian said frankly.   
  
“No one else is going to find them,” Ben said emphatically. “We’re further than anyone else could be.”  
  
“I need to see a difference.”  
  
“You will!”  
  
Tycho looked between the two men; intense passion in Ben’s eyes and nothing in Hux’s. “Put together a plan of action while the _Adamant_ is refueled and restocked. We’ll speak again before you leave.”  
  
Hux knew a dismissal when he heard one and he was quick to salute smartly. “Sir!”  
  
“Thanks, Tycho,” Ben nodded and turned to leave the room first.  
  
“Hux.” Tycho’s voice stopped him in his tracks just as he reached the door and he turned to look back at the general. “I expect better of you, son.”  
  
He swallowed hard. “I know, sir. I won’t let you down again.”  
  
Somehow, Hux made it all the way back to his office on the _Adamant_ without having to say more than a handful of short sentences. He didn't trust himself to say more. Teravo headed to the bridge and even Kalin quietly excused herself to go handle other duties once she saw his face. He waited until he heard the door hiss shut behind him and then slammed a fist down on his desk in frustration, making everything on it jump an inch in the air.   
  
"And they say I have anger issues."  
  
Hux whirled around to see Ben leaning casually against the wall by the door. "What are you doing in here?"  
  
"Standing."  
  
"Get out."  
  
"No." Hux glared. Ben shrugged. "You’re upset.”  
  
“What an astute observation.”  
  
Ben pushed off from the wall. “You’re upset and you’re angry and you need to take it out on someone so take it out on me.” Hux narrowed his eyes suspiciously, making Ben sigh. “Look, I know you’d be even more mad if your crew saw you crack like this—”  
  
“I am not cracking!” Hux said indignantly.   
  
“—and it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone.” That got a disbelieving snort from Hux. “I haven’t told anyone that we’ve been sleeping together. They wouldn’t believe me even if I did.”  
  
He tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. “I suppose you have a point.”  
  
Ben grinned. “See? Now come on. Yell or whatever.”  
  
Hux pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t feel inclined to yell now.”  
  
“Okay so just talk then.”  
  
He didn’t respond instantly, taking a long moment to collect his thoughts. “I’m a better officer than this. I’m a better man than this. A superior officer has never reprimanded me like that before, at least not in the New Republic.”  
  
“It wasn’t personal,” Ben tried to say reassuringly.   
  
He shook his head. “That’s the point though, Ben: it was. We’ve failed in part because I couldn’t move past my personal dislike for you and because we haven’t been working together as much as we should be.”  
  
The younger man smirked. “I think we know how to work together now.”  
  
“Kriffing you over my desk isn’t the same thing as finding the First Order,” Hux said bluntly, hands curling into fists again.   
  
He didn’t rise to the bait for once. “So we get the team together and give Tycho the plan he wants. Don’t we already have some leads?”  
  
“A few…”  
  
“Make a plan then. That’s what you do isn’t it?”  
  
“Please. Distill my job down to two condescending sentences again.” Ben rolled his eyes and Hux sighed. “Apologies—I’m not used to you actually being helpful but the problem stands—we have no time to prove our worth to the General and even less to complete our mission and I refuse to consider failing an option.”  
  
Annoyance instantly changed into an emotion Hux couldn’t quite identify on Ben’s face. “Hey.” Hux glared. Ben reached down and gently tugged at his fingers until they uncurled from their fists. “Tycho and Mom picked you for this mission.”  
  
“Ah yes,” Hux drawled, tugging his hand free and folding his arms across his chest. “They had so many First Order defectors to choose from. Who else could they have possibly—”  
  
“Shut up.” Ben didn’t wait to see if he’d listen and leaned forward to kiss him softly. Surprised, Hux’s eyes widened as Ben’s hands moved to cup his face. It took a moment before he left himself relax into it. The kiss was nothing like their usual—rough and a physical extension of their bickering. This was… nice. Hux’s hands drifted to the other man’s back, pulling him closer to him. Neither one of them moved away when the kiss ended. “You don’t need to prove your worth to anyone, including Tycho.”  
  
“Everyone needs to prove their worth,” Hux corrected him. “It’s the way of the galaxy.”  
  
“You worry too much.”  
  
“Is this what you consider taking out anger?” he asked, abruptly changing topics.   
  
Ben shrugged. “If it works…”  
  
Hux cleared his throat and took a step back towards his desk. “I have work to do.”  
  
The surprises continued as Ben seemingly acquiesced and walked towards the door, pausing before he reached it. “Hey Hux?”  
  
He arched an eyebrow. “Yes?”  
  
“You called me Ben before.”  
  
“Did I?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Does it matter?”  
  
“You’ve never used my name.”  
  
“It’s hardly something that merits discussion.”  
  
Dark eyes narrowed, clearly wanting to press the issue but instead he left, shutting the door behind him. Hux shook his head to clear it. There was no time to deal with the emotional Jedi’s nonsense now. Ben had had one sensible thought: though they did need to come up with a plan to find the First Order and that was precisely what he intended to do. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as that. For some damned reason, Ben Organa Solo had progressed from being a diversion and gone straight to being this little presence in his head that distracted and wouldn't go away. He didn't like it.   
  
Tycho had signed off on the plan Hux and Ben presented him, preferring that they follow the weapons trail and research the Dathomiri clans first and not run off to the planet half cocked. Hux wasn't confident in their course of action but he was desperate to find even the faintest clue to try and prove that Leia and Tycho hadn't misplaced their trust.  
  
It was all hands on deck once they reached Druckenwell or rather all hands on planet. Hux had sent double the usual ground crew down to the planet in small teams, hoping that strength in numbers would garner results. No one wore their uniforms or anything to mark them as members of the New Republic's military. Presenting themselves as such would have been the fastest way to fail this far into the Mid-Rim. Unfortunately, Hux realized with a grimace, there was nothing he could do about his--  
  
"Lose the stick up your ass, Major," Ben said as he sidled up. "Normal people don't walk that stiff and upright."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with having good posture," he replied tightly.  
  
"Yeah but no one's gonna talk to you if they think you're planetary police or something."  
  
Hux's eyes narrowed. "And the son of a princess knows all about backwater planet posture?"  
  
"A princess and a smuggler." He winked before slinging an arm around his shoulders, forcing Hux to slouch a little. "Relax."  
  
"Do you mind?" he hissed.  
  
"Yep." Ben steered them through the streets, half dragging Hux with him. “The whole point of being undercover is to not look like yourself.”  
  
“And if someone sees us?”  
  
The Jedi rolled his eyes. “That’s the point.” Somehow, Hux resisted stopping dead in his tracks and only side-eyed him. “Your crew won’t care.”  
  
“You don’t know my crew,” he said dryly. “What does a Jedi brat know about working undercover anyways?”  
  
“Sm-ug-gl-er.” Ben drew the word out into far more syllables than it actually contained. “Seriously, are you the only person in the galaxy that doesn’t know Han Solo’s my dad?” That earned him another look. “I didn’t spend lots of time with my parents growing up but Dad and Uncle Lando liked taking me on trips to less savory planets. Said it built character.”  
  
“It certainly built something,” Hux murmured, finally giving up on removing the offending arm. Not that any of this meant he liked it. “So may I presume you have a plan?”  
  
Ben flashed that infuriatingly charming smile. “Come on and follow my lead!” He grabbed Hux’s hand and dragged him down a side street and into a seemingly random shop.   
  
The older woman raised an eyebrow at them. “Can I help you boys?”  
  
“Hopefully,” Ben grumbled. “He _promised_ to get me this blaster we saw and it’s been three weeks and he _still_ hasn’t.”  
  
Hux gaped at him for a moment before he caught on to the ploy. They were going to need to discuss the importance of talking about plans before jumping right into them. “It was the only way I could get him to shut up,” he said to the shopkeeper, pulling his hand free to cross his arms. “I’ve regretted it ever since.”  
  
She smirked. “I’ve heard that one before. Why don’t you describe it and we’ll see if ol’ Jaya can’t help you out.”  
  
As Ben began to animatedly describe one of the Knights of Ren’s weapons, Hux leaned against a counter as casually as he could manage, trying to look bored. He had no idea if it was successful.   
  
“No, I think the barrel was a little shorter…”  
  
“Hmm…” The shopkeeper tapped a few buttons and scrolled through the catalog. “This one?”  
  
“Yes!” Ben turned towards him with a mischievous smirk. “You want to take a look, lover? You got a better look than me.”  
  
Mentally, Hux began running through all the ways he knew how to kill a man. He suspected that only approximately 35% of them would be effective against the Jedi in question in a fair fight. For now, he had to play along and step forward to inspect the hologram. “Can you spin it 120 degrees?” Blue eyes narrowed, he bent slightly to get a closer view, ignoring the feel of Ben’s hand on his back. “That maker’s mark on the barrel… this looks like what that zabrak used against us.”  
  
Jaya raised an eyebrow. “Zabrak?”  
  
“Just because someone tries to kill us doesn’t mean we can’t covet their weapons.” She gave him a strange look and he shrugged. “I appreciate the irony and I prefer to be prepared.”  
  
“Fair enough, I guess.” she said with a shrug. “I can get you one of these easily enough. It’s going to cost you though. I’m the only one for five systems who has these blasters.”  
  
“So maybe you sold to the zabrak who’s after us,” Ben said casually, resting his lanky frame on his elbows on the counter.   
  
“Maybe I did.”  
  
Ben reached out for her hand, an earnest look in his eyes that just screamed ‘trust me’ in them. “We’d be very grateful if you could help us out.”   
  
He was smooth, Hux had to admit. He would’ve missed the exchange of credits if he hadn’t been watching closely. Jaya stepped back, shoving her hands and the credits into her pockets as she evaluated them. “More to you boys than I expected.”  
  
“Watching my back gets so boring after a few weeks,” Ben said, half explaining and half complaining.   
  
Jaya raised an eyebrow and Hux shrugged. “My life’s easier when he’s happy.”  
  
“It’ll cost you,” she repeated finally.  
  
It took everything Hux had not to smile broadly. A solid lead was worth the price. They might as well put the New Republic credit line to good use. “How’d you know to go into that shop?” he asked afterwards as he and Ben headed back towards one of the shuttles, information datacards tucked safely into his jacket pocket.   
  
Ben shrugged. “Luck, I guess.” Hux just stared. “Fine, the Force. I had a feeling.”  
  
“Ah,” Hux replied simply. He was going to have to reevaluate his opinions on more than a few things.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely made stuff up about Dathomir or, at the very least, made some leaps from canon. This chapter was a heck of a lot of fun to write and I got at least the bare bones of the rest of this fic outlined so hopefully the next few chapters will be back on a weekly basis. ;)

Dathomir sang.   
  
It was such a strange sensation in the back of his mind that had first appeared when they entered the planet's orbit and that had only intensified the closer he got to the planet’s surface. No one else seemed to hear it—they were all Force blind, why would they? Maybe one or two of the crew seemed to be a little thrown off by the humming but for the most part, it was just Ben who had the concert in his head.  
  
The Force sensation coming from the planet hadn't been the only strange thing that day. He had been on his way down to the hanger bay, adjusting the straps on one bracer when the sound of his name had caught his attention.  
  
"Ben."  
  
He'd stopped in his tracks and turned back to see Hux standing there, a weird expression on his face. "Look, if I'm already late, it's not--"  
  
Hux hadn't responded verbally and instead cut him off by grabbing him and pressing him against the wall. Ben felt like he could've forgotten the rest of the world standing there and melting into the kiss. It was jarring when Hux pulled away. "You have a mission to get to. Try and find something down there."  
  
"Hux, I--"  
  
The Major hadn't even given him the chance to finish his sentence, spinning around and marching off towards the bridge. Ben still didn't know what he was supposed to think about any of this. Did Hux like him now? Did he still hate his guts? Did Ben even actually like Hux as anything more than a lay? Okay maybe he knew the answer to that last one but he didn't really want to—  
  
The ship shuddered as it hit a patch of turbulent atmosphere, jolting him from his thoughts. Jeh locked eyes with him and grinned. "Not a fan of landings?"  
  
"Only when I'm not the one flying," Ben admitted. "Spend enough time on the _Falcon_..."  
  
The commando chuckled and shook his head. "You've had a heck of a life, kid."  
  
"You're telling me," he muttered under his breath.   
  
Ben wasn't surprised that a trio of Force users waited to greet them with even more hanging back a dozen meters. The feel of Dathomir regressed down to a dull humming in the back of his mind while the Force presences of the trio blazed so brightly he almost wanted to shut them out. Everything was so amplified here. He pulled his cowl up (not that hiding his face would do much good) and extended his stride so he was in step with Teravo. "They know who we are," he murmured. "Or at least they know we're not friendly."  
  
"Didn't need the Force for that one," the Mirialan said tightly. "Let me know if you sense anything."  
  
"Yeah okay. I sense something."  
  
Surprisingly, it was Liselle who choked back a laugh. The look Teravo shot her was an odd mixture of betrayed and amused. "This is the last time I ever let Hux talk me into taking command of the ground mission."  
  
"You were the one who told us we were all thinking about this from too much of a human point of view," Liselle pointed out.  
  
"I'm reassessing my desire for my own command at some point." Teravo stepped forward, hands spread open with palms up in the universal gesture of peace. "We're just here to talk."  
  
"You're very heavily armed for talking," the zabrak woman at the front said bluntly.  
  
Teravo shrugged. "Troubled times. You can never be too careful."  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"Had a few questions about one of your clan sisters," he said casually.  
  
None of their expressions changed but Ben could feel their apprehension building through the Force. "How do you know she's Clan Ruun?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow and gestured towards his own facial tattoos. "Come on. You think I can't recognize clan markings?"  
  
"You're not one of us, Mirialan."  
  
"Really? I thought I'd grown horns last night but I guess not."  
  
"We want to help," Liselle broke in, stepping forward before Teravo could say anything else. “The clan sister we’re here about… she’s not the only one they’ve taken, is she?” The two flanking zabraks exchanged glances that said everything. “Tell us what you know and we can help you.”  
  
“Help?” The woman on the right snorted. “You’ll leave by tomorrow and then the First Order will be back here the next day and we’ll be at their mercy _and_ the Nightsisters’.”  
  
The words were out of Ben’s mouth before he could stop himself. “So they’ve been here. _She’s_ been here!”  
  
The leader’s eyes narrowed. “She who?”  
  
Before she could blink, Ben was right in front of her, hands grasping at her tunic. “Kyla Ren. When?!”  
  
“Solo…” Liselle hissed warningly behind him. He ignored her.   
  
“Who’s that?” the leader asked impudently.  
  
“A young woman,” Ben said shortly, “But you wouldn’t know how old she is or what she looks like. She wears a mask. Taller than you. She’d make you feel like she could break you with a thought.”  
  
“Family resemblance?” the leader asked snarkily.   
  
He could feel the frowns from some of the group but he ignored them. “You do not want to test me, Sister.”  
  
“No, I think I do,” she said evenly. “Why would I risk the safety Clan Ruun to help someone weaker than Kyla of Clan Ren?”  
  
Ben figured it out fast. “Okay fine.” Releasing her, he stepped back and shrugged out of his outer trappings. She did the same, handing hers to one of her sisters. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Yeva of Clan Ruun. And you?”  
  
“Ben of Clan Skywalker.”  
  
He turned towards Teravo and Liselle, passing them his cowl and lightsaber. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Teravo asked softly.  
  
“No,” he admitted in an equally quiet tone, “but if I screw this up, Hux will have no problem believing it was my fault.” He turned back to Yeva, eyebrows raised. “You ready?”  
  
She didn’t respond, not with words at least. Lucky for him, she telegraphed her attack louder than any words. Ben simply stepped to one side, letting her go by. She hit the ground hard but was back on her feet again. They struck at each other with hands and feet, faster than most of the spectators who formed a loose circle around them could follow. It was impossible for Ben not to grin as they fought even though he knew it probably made him look crazy. This was what he was good at. This was what he liked. He was going to win this.  
  
The Force flowed through him, stronger on this planet than he’d felt in years. The Force may have been with Yeva too but she was used to how Dathomir felt. For Ben, it was like being on stims. He wanted to live like this forever. Even though he knew it was a bad idea, he started toying with Yeva, letting her getting a few hits and even closer with a few more before landing a solid one of his own. It was _fun_.  
  
“Ben.” Liselle’s voice broke his concentration.  
  
“Busy.”  
  
“We have more work to do today. Stop playing.”  
  
“Hux isn’t here. This mission was supposed to be fun,” he grumbled.  
  
“Ben.”  
  
He sighed. “Fiiiiine.” Grin vanishing, Ben shot forward in a flurry of movement with a kick to the abdomen and another Force-aided hit to the chest that knocked her to the ground. He had her pinned to the dirt before she could recover, forearm pressed against her windpipe. “Is Clan Ruun ready to help yet?”  
  
She glared at him and he pressed down just a little harder. “Yes,” Yeva said begrudgingly.   
  
“Good,” Ben said briskly, getting back on his feet and dusting off his pants. He grinned at Liselle as he took back his things. “She’s all yours, Ms. Afyon.”  
  
“You always bring me such nice presents,” Liselle said with a straight face, offering the zabrak a hand up. “Shall we discuss what you know about the First Order?”  
  
Later, Ben still wouldn’t be sure if their timing had been awful or excellent. Teravo would be inclined to call it neither. He felt it through the Force before he saw or heard anything; the Force that betrayed him by not alerting him sooner. “Ambush!” he shouted, lightsaber appearing ignited in his hand. Yeva smirked.  
  
The First Order had them in the middle of open ground, away from the ship with barely any cover to be had. He should’ve seen it coming a mile away. Ben didn’t think, he just acted. No one needed to speak. Ilinn lead the retreat towards piles of crates in a section of the landing field. It wasn’t much but it was all they had. Ben blocked as much of the blaster fire as he could and made sure that everyone had made it before following them with a flip that landed him behind them. Immediately he frowned. “You brought her?”  
  
“Yep,” Liselle said brusquely, securing Yeva’s hands behind her back. “She set you up. We need to know what she knows.”  
  
“There are stormtroopers shooting at us!” Ben exclaimed, gesturing wildly and almost smacking Jeh in the face. “What else do we need?”  
  
“Do your job and let me handle mine,” she snapped.  
  
Teravo dragged him away before he could get into more trouble. “Thanks,” Ben muttered.  
  
“No problem,” Teravo replied, glancing over top the crate. “You need a blaster?”  
  
Ben shook his head, closing his eyes and using the Force to get a count of how many stormtroopers were there. Six. He could deal with six. Wait there were another six over... He could deal with twelve. Just one group at a time. "Can I get some cover?" As one, the Starfarers nodded, directing their team to take up defensive positions. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself like Uncle Luke had taught him so many years ago, and ignited his lightsaber.   
  
He wanted to fight on this planet forever. The Force had always given him an advantage and let him know to move _now_ and block _here_ and an attack was coming from _there_ but this was a whole new level. It was hard not to grin as he fought, blocking blaster bolts and letting his lightsaber slide smoothly right through the white armor. As the last trooper from the first batch fell, he felt what he called a Force itch and spun around, throwing a hand up and stopping a blaster bolt in mid-air.  
  
"What the-!" One of the stormtroopers exclaimed, reflexively taking a step back.   
  
Ben shrugged off the apprehension he felt from some of his own commandos. Wasn't the first time someone had been scared of a Skywalker Jedi. Wouldn’t be the last. With concentration and a little push, he sent the bolt back towards the shooter and hit her before she could move out of the way. This was starting to feel too easy... like there had to be something more.  
  
There was.   
  
Everything happened at once. The First Order must have had a command ship somewhere in the area as two more shuttles appeared, all filled to the brim with stormtroopers. They barely had enough time to offload before four X-Wings appeared in the sky, lasers blazing. Teravo must've called the _Adamant_ for back up which was good because Ben was starting to seriously doubt his ability to handle three dozen stormtroopers at once. Quickly, he backed his way towards the little bit of cover the commandos were left with. He'd never been more relieved to see the back of a crate. "We need to get out of here."  
  
"We know," Ilinn replied curtly, tightening a bandage on one of her commando's shoulders.   
  
"Two groups," Jeh said decisively. "We can lay down suppressing fire for each other."  
  
Liselle said, "We need more back up. If we can get some of the troopers to surrender..."  
  
Teravo shook his head. "Just heard from the _Adamant_. They're a little busy right now."  
  
"At least bring back a body," she amended. "I want a closer look at this new armor."  
  
"I can handle that," Ben said.  
  
Teravo raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure?" Ben's only response was to ignite his lightsaber again and jump back into the fray. Behind him, he could hear Teravo mutter, "Well fine then."  
  
It was sort of like dancing. Ben loved it. The first group began laying down their suppressing fire, giving the other half the _Adamant’s_ crew a chance to make a break for their shuttle and giving him time to advance on some of the enemy troopers. He knew that what he was doing was dangerous. How could it not be? There were over thirty of them and just one of him. He didn’t care. He could take them on. He was a Jedi. He was a Skywalker. He was better than them.  
  
He didn’t think, he acted. He let the Force tell him where to move, the song of Dathomir growing stronger in his mind. It didn’t mean he could block every shot. A blaster bolt had grazed his arm, slowing him down for a fraction of a second. He wasn’t sure if it’d been the only one. He didn't care. Not everyone behind him had made it out unscathed either.   
  
“Solo, let’s MOVE.” Jeh definitely knew how to shout.  
  
Ben knew the sound of a retreat order when he heard one and began fighting his way towards the ship. Stupidly, he glanced upwards as the X-Wing engaged the First Order ships and paid the price the next instant when he could only block four out of five shots. He stumbled, almost going down to one knee before he recovered. He didn’t have time to be injured now. The whine of the shuttle engines told him all he needed to know. He bent his knees, preparing to leap in the air when abruptly he remembered—  
  
The stormtrooper.   
  
Lifting the nearest fallen body with the Force barely took any effort and sending it flying into the waiting cargo bay didn’t take any more especially with the ship moving towards him. Ben followed, stumbling a little as he hit the boarding ramp. Liselle grabbed his shoulders to steady him. “One stormtrooper enough?”   
  
She shrugged. “Well. If you’re offering to get me more.”  
  
Concentrating, he glanced down at the field and reached out for one of the stormtroopers who was wounded but still alive. He sent their weapon flying in one direction and the trooper into the ship with a gesture, not exactly being careful of where he landed. “Happy now?”  
  
Calmly, Liselle flicked her blaster over to stun and shot the trooper twice. “It'll do.”  
  
“Good,” Ben said, mouth open to follow up with another snarky remark when he sudden looked down and saw blood on his clothes. His blood. Coming from what he was pretty sure was a blaster shot to his side. Adrenaline left him with a woosh and even the Force felt farther away as they left Dathomir. “When did that happen?”  
  
The question ended up being rhetorical as he blacked out.  
  
~  
  
Things weren't any better in orbit than they were planet-side unless, of course, you counted having shields between you and the enemy fire. Teravo's message had given the _Adamant_ just enough time to bring their shields up before two mid-sized ships popped out of hyperspace. Hux had been down in engineering when it all happened and taken off at a supremely undignified dead sprint the moment he received the alert. Kalin already had his terminal's display split between the tactical view and asset locations and stepped smoothly to the side. "Status?"  
  
"We sent the flight down to the planet as per your orders," Commander Garess Barten said shortly. She informally served as the ship's third-in-command and frequently had the bridge during the third shift. "I have Ivason's squadron scrambling now."  
  
"Good," Hux said curtly. "Have the rest of Amersu's squadron ready to launch if Ivason's can't handle the—ahh yes, there they are. Keep them on standby."  
  
His concerns appeared to be mostly unfounded as Captain Ivason's pilots appeared to be more than a match for the First Order TIE pilots. Apparently adding shields to their starfighters was still rather low on the priority list; a critical error for the resource strapped First Order. Hux wasn't going to complain though. Why would he when it helped his own troops? The captains of the ships appeared to be mildly more competent or at least competent enough that Hux almost enjoyed himself as he fell into the tactical chess match. It wasn't about who had more starfighters or more cannons on their ship. It was about who could think the fastest and the farthest ahead. Simulations could never replace the thrill of actual combat.   
  
Approximately half of their TIE fighters had been destroyed by the time Kalin stepped forward to pass him a datacard. “Status report for you, Major.”  
  
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” he replied absently, accepting it without looking away from the tactical display before him. It took another moment before he realized that she hadn’t returned to her post and he raised an eyebrow at her expectantly. “Yes?”  
  
“Sir, the ground forces are returning now. You may wish to read the report when you have a moment but we’ve alerted the medbay to prepare for at least four major injuries including Captain Teravo and Jedi Solo.”  
  
At that moment, Hux became incredibly grateful for his aide’s discretion. She’d figured out early on that he and Ben Solo… entertained each other despite their attempts to be discreet and he knew she knew because not only was Kalin a smart woman and they'd had an awkward conversation about it but because Ben had supposedly accidentally picked up on her thoughts one time. He’d eat his hat if it had actually been an accident. “Thank you for the report, Lieutenant.”  
  
“Of course, sir.”   
  
Despite a very loud voice in his head yelling at him to drop everything and go make sure that the overgrown child who frequently shared his bed was okay, Hux turned back to the tactical boards. He had no real medical training to speak of and had a job to finish here. What he could do was ensure that the ground forces' shuttle had reinforcements as they returned to the _Adamant_. After a few minutes, he allowed himself to set an alert on his datapad so any and all updates regarding Ben Solo’s medical status would be sent to him automatically.   
  
The _Adamant_ was certainly holding her own but it was still two ships against one regardless of how many TIEs they took out. "Start calling our fighters back in," he ordered. "And make sure our EV and disabled ship pilots are retrieved."  
  
"Shuttle's already in route," Barten replied.  
  
"Plot a course corewards. Jump as soon as everyone's onboard."  
  
Barten raised an eyebrow. "Before the First Order?"  
  
Hux nodded. "Their protocols dictate that they should--" The smaller of the enemy ships was kind enough to make the jump to hyperspace mid-sentence. "Mm." He didn't let himself breath even the faintest sigh of relief until all of their ships had been recalled and the stars had stretched into lines and turned into the white-blue tunnel of hyperspace around them.   
  
The end of active combat never meant that the work was done especially with injuries, damages to the ship, and—fantastic, now they had prisoners to deal with too. It wasn’t until hours after the battle ended and everything had finally calmed down that he allowed his feet to take him towards the medical bay. Teravo's bedside was his first stop. "How are you doing?" Hux asked.  
  
"I got shot but otherwise, I'm good," Teravo said with a straight face.  
  
"This is a terrible way to get out of your XO duties."  
  
"I'll plan better next time."  
  
The corner of his mouth twitched into an almost smile. "Really though; how are you feeling?"  
  
Teravo waved off his concern. "It hurts but I'll be fine. Nothing bacta can't fix."  
  
"Take whatever time you need," Hux said sincerely. "We can shift duties around easily enough."  
  
"Kalin will love that," Teravo said with an amused shake of his head. "As tempting as it is to take some extra time off, I'll be good to go in a few days."  
  
"Good. The _Adamant_ needs her XO."  
  
Being a Jedi had rated the man a private corner of the medical bay, further away from the hustle and bustle. Hux was grateful for both the quiet and the privacy as he read through Ben’s chart. A blaster wound to the side was the major culprit but it was nothing that the few hours of bacta he’d already had and some time and rest wouldn’t heal.  
  
Despite himself, Hux dropped into the chair beside the bed, reaching out to carefully brush still damp hair away from Ben’s face as he slept. He looked so young as he lay there. There was barely any hint of the usually charismatic and often prone to anger man that he'd come to know over the months. It was almost unsettling. A soft  _ding_ distracted him from his thoughts and with a sigh, he pulled out his datapad to read whatever the latest fire was. One urgent message turned into two which turned into filling out combat reports which turned into him completely losing track of time and over an hour going by as he quietly worked.   
  
“So you do care.”  
  
The murmured words jolted Hux from his concentration. “How long have you been awake?”  
  
“Few minutes.”  
  
“And you’re just now saying something?”  
  
Ben shrugged. “I like watching you work.”  
  
“I prefer to not do so from your bedside because you’ve almost gotten yourself killed.”  
  
“I’ve had worse.” He winced as he shifted to sit up. “It was my fault anyways. Should’ve been faster and blocked that bolt.”  
  
“Ahh yes,” Hux drawled, tucking the datapad away and leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. “It’s absolutely your fault that a stormtrooper shot you.”  
  
Ben’s expression was sincere. “I need to train more. I can’t be that sloppy when I fight the Knights of Ren. When I fight my...”  
  
Face blank, Hux rose to his feet so he could sit on the edge of the bed. “Considering every potential possibility because of one slow moment would be ill advised. You’ll merely exhaust yourself when you should be focused on healing.”  
  
“Do you always have to sound like you’ve got a stick up your ass?” he asked exasperatedly.   
  
“You seem to enjoy asking me that.”  
  
“I know,” Ben shot back, “Because I’m hoping you'll take a hint.”  
  
“Inefficient as always,” Hux replied, words softened by a rare half-smile as he reached out to run a hand through the Jedi’s now-dry hair. Ben seized the opportunity and pulled the other man forward for a kiss. Half tempted to pull away, he instead leaned into it, savoring the moment and the tangible reminder that the other man was still alive. The kiss was brief; his military sensibilities wouldn’t allow for a longer one. It wouldn’t do for a subordinate to walk up and see their commander fraternizing with a Jedi.   
  
“Stop being Major Hux for a minute and just be Hux,” Ben murmured as he pulled him back down again, kissing the corner of his mouth. “No one’s going to suddenly think you can’t command a cruiser just because they see you kissing me.”  
  
The lie came easily to his lips. “I’m on duty.”  
  
It was easier still to see through. “You wouldn’t be sitting here if you were.”  
  
“I’m always on duty,” Hux amended, closer to the truth. “You know that.”  
  
“Kalin knows how to find you,” Ben countered, shifting his hand to curl around Hux’s waist. "Just stay here with me for a little bit."  
  
"Why?" Hux asked frankly, even as he let the Jedi pull him closer.  
  
"Because I got shot and I want you to."  
  
"That wasn't what I meant."  
  
"I know."  
  
Hux searched for words, grasping at unfamiliar emotions. "Then...why?"  
  
"Because for some stupid reason, I like you, Hux," Ben said. "I shouldn't because you call me a useless brat at least once a day."  
  
"I believe that I separate those into two distinct insults but go on."  
  
"See? That's what I mean!" Ben exclaimed. “You give me every damn reason to hate you and I don’t.”  
  
Hux swallowed hard, looking away. “Don’t confuse enjoyable sex for feelings.”  
  
Ben yanked him forward again for another kiss, fingers weaving through his cropped red hair. Hux didn’t fight it; he leaned in to it. The kiss was brief but both of them were breathing rapidly when they broke apart. "Still think I'm confused?"  
  
"Perhaps not," Hux admitted, the words barely out of his mouth before Ben kissed him again. Thinking went out the window as he pressed Ben back against the bed, hands drifting down towards his side before remembering he was wounded and settling on his shoulders. For his part, Ben didn't seem inclined to let him go any time soon regardless of—His comlink beeped insistently and Hux groaned as he pulled away, hand going to his temples as he answered the call. "Yes?"  
  
 _"Sorry to bother you, Major but we've got the final battle report. You should probably come look at this."_  
  
"Can it wait?"  
  
Kalin hesitated. _"Probably but I think you'll want to go over it now. There are a few items of note."_  
  
He suppressed a sigh. "I'll be on the bridge momentarily." Clicking the device off, he turned back to Ben apologetically. "I have to go."  
  
"I know," Ben replied with a lopsided smile. "Your ship comes first."  
  
"We can continue this... later," he finished lamely as he stood up.   
  
"I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Somehow, things just kept coming up over the next few days that begged for Hux's attention and made it so he never had a chance to return to the medbay. Suggesting that he dove into his work would, of course, be absurd because that would also suggest that he was avoiding Ben and the logical end of their conversation. A Hux did not run away from anything. Clearly there was just too much work to do.  
  
Ben had been released from the medbay by the time Hux finally ran out of tasks to keep himself reasonably occupied with and so he finally found himself apprehensively knocking on the Jedi's door after his shift one night. Oddly enough those nerves vanished once he answered and Hux was confronted with that bare, muscular torso with a brand new scar. "Hey Hux."  
  
"Do you make it a habit to answer your door without a shirt?" Hux demanded.  
  
Ben shrugged. "Knew it was you."  
  
"Of course you did," he murmured before clearing his throat. "May I come in?"  
  
"That depends."   
  
"On what?"  
  
"Are you planning to stay?"  
  
Hux hesitated. "I... if you'd still like me to, then yes."  
  
Ben's only response was to grab him by the front of his uniform and drag him inside. 


	10. Chapter 10

It was odd how quickly they fell into a routine and, Hux had to admit to himself, it wasn't all that different from how things had been before. They still argued and tried to be as stealthy as they could manage about going in and out of each others' rooms but now he stayed afterwards and sometimes Ben would come and physically drag him out of his office in the very early hours to make sure he slept. Hux had tried objecting strenuously the first time but had learned that despite their similar heights? Ben had no problem picking him up without any help from the Force. It would've made him feel self-conscious if he hadn't been exhausted enough to fall asleep within minutes of reaching his bed. Or maybe it had been Ben's bed. He didn't remember.

The ship had been in chaos ever since Dathomir. Three of the _Adamant’s_ men and women had lost their lives in the skirmish—a commando and two pilots. They'd been the first casualties during the mission. Hux was reluctant to write the official condolence letters; what could he say to possibly make anyone feel better? ‘Dear Madame, I regret to inform you of the death of your wife. The details of her mission are classified but she died bravely. The New Republic extends its sympathies.’ The words read hollow to him every time.

Having prisoners aboard didn’t help either. Well, prisoner singular now. The stormtrooper had killed himself with a hidden suicide pill in a tooth. Hux had watched the security footage and immediately recognized the brainwashed protocols that the Commandant had been so proud of. He could’ve warned the guards if he’d been thinking clearly but there was no point in wasting energy on beating himself up for not being able to be everywhere on the ship at once. Maybe another day.

Yeva Ruun was still their unwilling visitor on-board and had proven to be more useful than Hux had expected despite her clear disinclination to cooperate. Liselle had politely yet firmly told him to stop interfering and let her handle the interrogation and so he had mostly backed off and just read her daily reports. Despite that, he couldn’t resist occasionally dropping by the sessions like he did today. He frowned as he watched the live feed from the interview room. “What’s Solo doing in there?”

“What I told him to,” Liselle replied shortly, intent on the screen.

“Which would be…?”

“Listen and you’ll find out.”

Hux rolled his eyes but stopped with the questions. He knew when to shut up. The _Adamant_ certainly wasn’t lacking in capable women who spoke plainly when the situation called for it.

It was odd watching Ben work like this. He didn’t say anything, only stared intently into Yeva’s eyes. Yeva stared right back or at least she tried to as she squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. “You’re afraid for your clan,” Ben said quietly, never blinking.

“Get out of my head, Jedi!”

“They’ll keep coming back,” he continued relentlessly. “And they’ll keep recruiting your sisters and maybe if you’re lucky, they’ll send home the bodies when they die but you’ll probably just never hear anything again. That's what you're worried about, isn't it? Because of... oh. Your daughter. You think they might take her next. Or maybe they already did.”

Yeva didn’t say anything but she was certainly visibly wavering. “There we go,” Liselle said to herself before heading into the room herself. “Solo, they want you on the bridge. Scout ships are back from Dathomir.”

“Did the First Order go back?”

Liselle ignored her. “They’ll fill you in on the details there.” Taking his cue, Ben left to join them in the observation room. Liselle turned back to the zabrak. “Were you discussing anything interesting?”

“What happened to my clan?” Yeva demanded.

The blonde shrugged. “If there was evidence of more of your clan sisters or your daughter being taken by the First Order, that’s not something I could tell you. It's against New Republic policy to share intelligence with uncooperative persons.”

That was all it took. “What do you want to know?”

"I can't decide if I'm incredibly attracted to or terrified of her," Teravo remarked as they watched Liselle coax the last little bits of information they needed from the zabrak.

"She's not interested," Kalin said from where she stood towards the back, paying more attention to her own work.

He raised an eyebrow. "In men? In non-humans? Or just me?"

"In anyone."

"Oh. Okay." Teravo took the information in stride before frowning at the woman. "How do you always know everything?"

"It's my job," Kalin replied, still focused on her datapad, "and it keeps things interesting."

It took effort for Hux not to shake his head with amusement at his occasionally ridiculous crew. Instead, he looked his aide in the eye. “Tell Liselle that I want her report by the end of the day.”

“Yes, sir.”

When combined with their combat recordings, their previous finds, and the two stormtroopers and two Knights of Ren in their morgue, it had to be enough. They had to have enough proof by now for the New Republic to listen. That didn’t stop him from worrying the minute the _Adamant_ received a response saying that General Celchu would be meeting them at the attached set of coordinates. As news spread across the ship, it soon became clear that Hux wasn’t the only one anxious about the briefing. It had been eight long months since they’d last seen Hosnian Prime and everyone was eager to complete their mission and finally make their way home again. For his part, he desperately wanted this one to go better than the last time he'd spoken to Tycho.

Hux willed himself not to fidget as he stood in the hanger bay in a perfectly pressed uniform as he waited for the General's ship to land. “I could feel your nerves from two decks away,” Ben said as he joined him.

Hux frowned. “Get out of my head, Solo.”

“I’m not in your—that’s now how the Force works, Hux!” he said exasperatedly. “I can’t just go in your head whenever I feel like.”

“The zabrak in our brig may beg to differ.”

“I had to concentrate to do that!” Ben frowned. “Wait. You’re trying to distract yourself, aren’t you?”

"I'm not in the mood for your Jedi nonsense right now."

"It's not--" He didn't get any further before the expected ship entered the hanger bay, the sound of its engines drowning him out. They only had to wait a few more minutes for the ship to power down before two very familiar figures strolled down the boarding ramp. "Mom?" Ben's surprise was nearly tangible. "What are you doing here?"

Leia grinned broadly as her son covered the distance between them in three long strides and hugged her tightly, feet coming off the ground. "Your reports sounded promising so I figured I'd come out here myself. And," she reached up to mess his already unruly hair once her feet were on the ground again, "I missed my favorite son."

Ben made a face as he stepped back. "I'm your only son. Unless you and Dad aren't telling me something."

"We're both too old for any of that nonsense," Leia said with a laugh. "We really have missed you, Ben."

His response was barely audible. "I missed you too."

Hux almost let himself smile as he saluted. "General Celchu! Welcome aboard the _Adamant_."

Tycho returned the salute with an actual smile. "It's good to be here, Major."

"Any crew with you?"

He shook his head. "I didn't want to involve anyone else since this could still explode in all of our faces. Plus, I never get to fly anymore."

Hux nodded towards mother and son. "Senator Organa's presence is a surprise."

"All Leia's idea," Tycho said as they all began to leave the hanger. "She's been following all of the reports and thought this was a good opportunity to get directly involved again."

"Hopefully this briefing will go better than our last one," he said with forced calm. "Speaking of which, we're prepared to go over everything from Dathomir with you now or we can wait if you'd prefer?"

Tycho shook his head. "Now is fine. There's no need to leave that dangling over everyone's heads."

"We'll head straight to our briefing room then," Hux said, stride never breaking as he sent a brief message to Kalin so she could grab the rest of the team and also have quarters prepared for their guests. "Ben." The Jedi looked back at him. "We're doing the briefing first."

"Got it," he replied, steering his mother towards the right turbolift.

Tycho arched an aristocratic eyebrow. "I see relations have improved.”

Hux refused to let his expression waver. "After the last meeting, we determined that our energy was better focused on the First Order instead of against each other."

"A very wise decision."

Teravo, Liselle, and Kalin were all waiting for them in their usual planning room. As introductions were made and greetings exchanged between the three and their high-ranking visitors, Hux could feel that odd calming river sensation brush against his thoughts again. He didn't fight it this time but rather let it wash over him. "Thank you," he murmured to Ben, the two of them lingering near the door.

"We've got the proof they wanted," Ben replied in an equally quiet tone. "You've got this."

" _We've_ got this," Hux corrected him, tempted to brush away that one piece of hair that flopped in front of his dark eyes. Instead, he cleared his throat and took his seat across from Leia. "Shall we?"

Over the next hour, Hux and the rest of the team laid out every last bit of proof they'd found over the last eight months from every encounter with the Knights of Ren to clues in the armor of both the dead Knights of Ren and the stormtroopers to the battle both on and over Dathomir. Tycho and Leia listened attentively, asking clarifying questions here and there but otherwise keeping their opinions well under wraps. The only time Hux spotted so much as an eyebrow raise was when he mentioned that the new stormtrooper armor appeared to have incorporated some changes that he'd suggested to his father back in his Academy days. When they reached the end of the briefing, neither Tycho nor Leia immediately said anything. They merely exchanged looks that apparently said everything even if Hux couldn't figure out exactly what.

Ben, however, appeared to not have that problem. He breathed, "Oh no."

Before Hux could even think about asking him to clarify, Leia flashed that politician smile she'd perfected at the table. "First, let me start by thanking all of you for delivering such a thorough yet concise report. I know this hasn't been the easiest assignment and I appreciate the efforts of all of you and of the entire crew of the _Adamant_."

"Here it comes," Ben muttered.

"Captain, Specialist, Lieutenant... if you would be so kind as to give us the room?"

As one, the three rose to their feet and left. "We'll be outside," Teravo said.

The door had barely shut before Ben curled his hands into fists and groaned. "You have got to be kidding me!"

The smile dropped and Leia frowned at her son. "Ben, please."

"How much more proof do you need?"

Hux kept his face blank. "So it's not enough."

Leia and Tycho glanced at each other again before he shook his head. "It's not enough."

Ben swore violently as he leapt to his feet, knocking the chair over backwards. Leia glared but he seemed to be immune. "What else do you want us to find? Mom, I was this close to--"

"Ben." The sharp tone brought his bubbling fury to an abrupt halt. "Sit down." With a wave of his hand, the chair righted itself and he grumpily complied, anger still simmering. "I promise you that we'd prefer to end your mission sooner rather than later but this isn't enough to take before the Senate."

"Why not?" Hux asked, forcing himself to remain calm despite his levels of frustration matching Ben's far more visible ones. "Ben's fought the Knights of Ren twice now and we clearly walked into a trap on Dathomir; one laid with stormtroopers, I might add. Groups with peaceful intentions don't design and outfit their troops with brand new armor."

"Everyone in this room knows that," Tycho said, "but the Armed Forces committee won't see it the same way. They'll consider all of this as the Empire just trying to cling to what made them the Empire."

"What about the ships the _Adamant_ faced?"

He shrugged. "Maybe if they'd been Star Destroyers..."

"If they'd been Star Destroyers, we'd all be dead!" Ben exclaimed, half rising out of his chair again before Hux's firm hand on his shoulder yanked him back down. "Is that what the Senate wants? All of us dead?"

"Star Destroyers..." Hux said, thinking aloud. "So they won't do anything unless we find a mobilizing base or there's a full blown attack on a planet they deem worthy enough."

Leia nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. And no, Ben, I don't think the Senate will only accept your death as proof and even if they did, I refuse to lose anyone else to this simmering war."

"Well isn't that reassuring," Ben muttered.

Hux did his best to ignore the overgrown, brewing temper tantrum to his left. "What else would you have us do? Searching the Unknown Regions for a base with one ship hasn't worked thus far and I doubt we'll suddenly have a stroke of luck."

The corner of Tycho's mouth twitched downwards. "You're not going to like our answer."

"With respect, General, there's a lot about this mission that I haven't liked."

“We need you to keep running down leads,” Tycho said apologetically. “I agree that continuing into the Unknown Regions would be like searching for a specific speck of sand on Tatooine but with everything your team presented today,” he waved his hand broadly towards the table, “I trust that you can find them.”

“Your trust is staggering,” Hux said far more sarcastically then he intended.

Ever the diplomat, Leia rose to her feet. “Why don’t we adjourn for a little while? I’m afraid that the _Adamant_ is stuck with us for at least a day. There will be plenty of time to discuss further.”

“We’re happy to host you, ma’am,” Hux said, rising at the same time as her. “Quarters should be prepared for you both by now. They’re not much but--”

“When you’ve lived on Hoth for a few weeks, anything that doesn’t involve the cold will do just fine,” Leia said with a smile.

“If you’re telling war stories again, I’m leaving,” Ben grumbled, mood abruptly swinging the other direction. Hux merely raised an eyebrow at him. “Hey, you try growing up and having to hear all these war stories all the time!”

“You’re being dramatic, Ben,” Leia said with a little shake of her head before turning serious again for one last moment. “Your team is doing an incredible job given the mission and I'm pleased with how well you two are working together especially given some of the reports. We will discuss a plan forward before Tycho and I leave. You have my word on that.”

It was the best they were going to get for now.

~

Leia and Tycho stayed aboard the _Adamant_ for almost three days. By the end of the first, Hux managed to relax a little... or at least his version of relaxing. Leia had been true to her word and they'd held tactical brainstorming sessions with both Rebellion heroes in the mix. After only half an hour or so, it wasn't difficult for anyone to see why Leia had risen so rapidly through the Rebel Alliance ranks. Neither she nor Tycho stood on ceremony and offered suggestions and took rebuttals like anyone else on the team. It wasn't long before everyone let out the breath they'd seemed to be holding. Teravo resumed his usual sprawl on the room's couch and even Kalin's eyes lost their wide-eyed hero stare. They were a productive handful of days despite the disappointment.

It was still early in the morning on the third day when Hux slipped out of Ben's room, annoyed with himself for oversleeping. At least he still had time for a quick shower before he needed to be on the bridge.

"Hux?" He froze and turned to face Leia Organa. "You're awake early."

"Yes ma'am," he said, painfully aware of how disheveled he looked. "You are too."

"Old habits," Leia said with a half smile before raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "Isn't that my son's room?"

Internally, he panicked. "We were uhhh discussing the mission."

"At this hour?"

"Yes."

"That's interesting. Ben has never been a morning person in the past." Hux was fairly sure the color of his face was close to matching his hair, a fact that Leia confirmed with that incredibly knowing smile on her face. "You're both full of surprises."

Right on cue, the room door slid open again and Ben stumbled out with a comlink in his hand, still looking half asleep. "Hey you forgot your—” He stopped abruptly as Hux glared at him and nodded towards Leia. "Oh."

"You're awake early," Leia said, not even trying to hide her grin.

"Yeah uhhh we were just discussing uhm..." Ben fumbled for an excuse before Hux shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Osik."

"Don't swear like a Mandalorian." The reprimand was completely counteracted by the amusement in her eyes. "I had no idea that you two were working together _this_ well."

Hux wanted to hide his face in the jacket he held. Or melt into the nearby wall. Ben, on the other hand, flushed pink for a few seconds before leaning against the door jam and smirking right back at his mother. "Yeah. Yeah we are. And?"

She shook her head. "And nothing, Ben. I'm just glad that you two seem to be enjoying yourselves despite the difficult assignment."

This was not at all how Hux had thought this conversation would go. Actually, he'd never even considered how this conversation would go but it certainly wasn't in a hallway while he was half dressed and where anyone could just wander by and witness. "I need to be on the bridge," he muttered, grabbing his comlink from Ben and then hastily retreating to his own quarters but unable to avoid hearing the continued exchange between mother and son.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

"So much that I may have to record the holo call when I tell Han.”

"Mom, come on!"

"You do remember that he's not the first redhead I've caught you with, right?"

"That was 10 years ago!"

That was more than Hux cared to hear. He was grateful when the door slid shut behind him. Unfortunately, he could only avoid the entire debacle for so long. At least he was presentably dressed in full uniform when he, Ben, and a handful of his officers stood in the hanger bay to see Tycho and Leia off later that day. It was still an effort to keep his expression neutral as Leia looked up at him. "We'll keep looking for the First Order, ma'am."

"I know," Leia replied. "I believe that the Force will guide you and help you find them." She paused, a hint more of that previous amusement slipping into her smile. "I certainly never suspected that we'd end up here when we first met at your defection."

"No ma'am."

She sighed. "Hux, I'm going to need you to drop the ma'ams if you're going to be involved with my son." He choked on air. "I know that will be difficult for someone who clings to protocol as much as you do but I think you can manage."

"Yes Senator."

"Good. You do have a sense of humor buried within that Imperial posture." Hux gaped at her soundlessly and she seemed to relent a little. "I tease because that's my prerogative as his mother. If you and Ben are good for each other then I'm happy for you."

Hux considered a few responses before finally settling on. "I like to think that we are."

Leia nodded curtly, reaching up to pat his arm right below the shoulder. "Good. Now go find the First Order."

"Yes ma'am."

That made her smile and shake her head a little as she moved on. Oncetheir shuttle took off, Hux turned back to his crew, oddly enough feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Let's get back to work."

~

Leia and Tycho's presence on the ship had had the odd effect of disheartening them and then almost immediately raising moral. Hux felt more driven then ever to find the First Order and deliver proof to the New Republic on a silver platter. It was a sentiment that seemed to have swept over the entire ship. He never asked it and yet everyone started putting in longer hours and working harder than ever before. Hux had never been prouder of his crew.

Longer hours applied to him too even if he couldn’t quite bring himself to stop letting Ben drag him into bed. The results were far too agreeable and even he could admit that he needed a break occasionally. Figuring out new ways to get Ben to make that little noise he made when he was right on the edge was enjoyable to say the least. Afterwards, his datapad was never far from reach with the never-ending work waiting for him.

He was reviewing Liselle’s latest analysis of potential First Order locations one such evening with Ben curled up beside him. Subconsciously, he ran his fingers through the other man’s dark hair, completely focused on the datapad in his other hand when a seemingly random question jolted him from his thoughts.  
   
“Why don’t you use your name?”

The words were muffled and half asleep but they made Hux stiffen like they’d been a blaster shot nonetheless. “What?”

“Why don’t you use your name?” Ben repeated, turning his head on the pillow so he could look up at him.

“Hux is my name,” he replied, purposefully misinterpreting. “I certainly wouldn’t have willingly taken the Commandant’s surname.”

“Not what I meant and you know it.” The datapad pulled free from his hands, seemingly of its own accord and floated over to a chair. Hux raised an irritated eyebrow at Ben who merely shrugged. “You were ignoring me.”

“I do have a ship to run.”

“Why don’t you use your first name?”

“It’s on all of my paperwork and orders. Hardly a secret.”

“Yeah but no one actually uses it,” Ben countered. “Not you, not Tycho, not Teravo… I’ve never even heard Kalin use it before.”

Hux’s fingers itched to retrieve his datapad and dive back into his work. “She’s my aide. Why would she?”

The look that Ben gave him was all too knowing. “Sure, whatever. You’re not friends at all. It’s all Major Hux sir all the time with you two.” Something about hearing Ben Organa Solo say sir to him made Hux swallow hard as a fantasy or two danced through his mind. His reaction hadn’t been nearly subtle enough though as the Jedi smirked and leaned over to press a brief kiss to his hip. “We can talk about _that_ later but back to your name… I think the only time I’ve even heard it was when Mom introduced us.”

“Why the sudden fascination?” Hux asked, one part irritated and one part curious.

“Names mean something.”

“How delightfully insightful of you.”

He pouted. “I just want to know.”

“Because Cadet Brendol Hux was someone loyal to the First Order,” Hux finally gave in. “That’s not who I am and I don’t care to be reminded of my father.”

“And Major Brendol Hux is loyal to the New Republic.” Hux couldn’t help the frown that appeared on his face. Almost instantly, Ben sighed. “What? Am I not even allowed to say it?”

He shook his head. “No it’s just… I haven’t heard anyone call me that outside of an introduction since I left the First Order.” He fell silent, his memory taking him back to that day whether he wanted it to or not.

Ben scooted closer to him on the bed, voice quiet. “Who was it?”

“My sister. She was furious as me for planning to defect.”

“She let you go anyways?”

He snorted. “Hardly. I knocked her out and locked her in her room so she couldn't stop me.” That got a laugh out of Ben. “She’s probably still mad at me.”

“What was her name?” Ben asked curiously.

“Alys.” It felt strange to say her name aloud for the first time in so many years. “Her name is Alys.”

“Were you close?”

“Yes." Hux stared at some random point on the wall. "No one understood me quite like she did. Perhaps it's because no one else knew what it was like to be us."

"Do you know what happened to her?"

He shrugged. "I suspect that she's probably a Captain of her own Star Destroyer now. She's certainly smart enough and maybe, if we're lucky, she's figured out a way for our father to meet an untimely end." Both of Ben's eyebrows shot up and Hux's lips turned into a thin line. "You'd feel the same if you ever met the man, trust me."

A handful of emotions flickered through the other man's eyes but he seemed to just let them pass. "But she used your actual name?"

Hux nodded. "Brendol, Bren, a few more uncomplimentary ones when she was angry. It would have been odd for her to use our shared surname." He slid down the bed so he could look Ben in the eyes. “Why do you care so much?”

“Because I want to know you,” Ben said earnestly.

“You’ve been in my bed more times than I can count on my fingers,” Hux said. “I believe that counts as you knowing me.”

“Not what I meant.”

“Mmm.” Hux made a noncommittal noise, turning and climbing on top of the other man so he could kiss him deeply. It was a cheap trick but not one he considered himself above. He ran his hands lightly down Ben’s chest before settling on his pectorals, enjoying the warm feeling of hard muscle. Ben responded in kind, a hand settling on the nape of his neck. Smiling into the kiss, Hux grabbed both of his wrists, pinning them firmly on the bed above his head, rolling his hips down. The sound of the moan was almost inaudible but Hux could feel Ben’s response beneath him. Pulling away, he began lavishing attention on Ben’s neck, sucking hard enough to leave a mark.

Ben arched his back, voice now a little breathless. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Do you now?” Hux murmured in reply between kisses, releasing his grip on his wrists and shifting his attention downwards. "Keep those there please."

“You’re trying to—mmm—distract me.”

“Is it working?” Hux asked, hands making their way towards Ben's hips.

“Not real— _kriff_ do that again!”

It was hard to refrain from smirking even though his mouth was otherwise occupied. At least he knew one way to make Ben Organa Solo shut up.

~

Newly motivated or not, the results of their efforts didn't seem to change. Hux lost count of the number of leads they chased down over the next two months only to come up empty again. It felt like they'd hit at least half of the planets along the Corellian Run and all of the ones on the edge of Known Space.

"What if we just start throwing darts at a map and going to whatever planet they land on?" Teravo suggested during their latest daily strategy meeting.

Hux shot his executive officer a mildly irritated look. "Don't be ridiculous, Teravo."

"Do you have a better idea?" the Mirialan asked.

"No," he admitted after a pause. "But I strongly suspect that one's out there."

Liselle tapped a few buttons on the control panel and all of the planets where they'd previously stopped glowed red. "Where?"

Silenced reigned over the room for a few long minutes before Ben cleared his throat. "I may have an idea."

Hux raised an impatient eyebrow. "Which is?"

Ben shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You're not going to like it."

"There are a lot things in this galaxy that I don't like."

"You're really not going to like it."

"Spit it out, Solo."

"I think we need to go to Arkanis."

Hux stared. "You were right. I don't like it."

"The Force keeps giving me this strong feeling of _go_ every time Arkanis comes up."

"Now I definitely don't like it."

"Come on, it makes sense!" Ben exclaimed. "Your father's Academy was there, their Senators lean Centrist, they were reluctant to join the New Republic. Why shouldn't we check it out?"

Gritting his teeth at the mere mention of the Commandant, Hux turned towards Liselle who shrugged. "He has a point."

Teravo was next. "You didn't like my dart throwing idea."

By the time he turned to his aide, he knew exactly what was coming. Kalin smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Major. I think it's worth a shot."

"Arkanis is a terrible planet," Hux protested, painfully aware of the faint whine that entered his voice. "It rains constantly and gives anyone who steps outside the look of a drowned rodent. Why would the First Order ever want to go there?"

"We found the Knights of Ren on Endor," Teravo reminded him.

"And Ben had a Force feeling then too," Kalin added.

The Jedi made a face. "Force feeling? Really?"

"What else would you call it?"

"Good point."

Hux looked around at each of their faces and threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine. We'll go to my miserable homeworld. Don't bother complaining to me when it turns out to be a tremendous waste of time."

Irritation aside, Hux made sure that he was on the bridge before the _Adamant_ came out of hyperspace. It was odd finally know that he'd set foot on his homeworld again and odder still when he laid eyes on Arkanis for the first time since they'd fled when he was four years old. "Alert Jedi Solo that we've arrived," he ordered curtly as they settled into orbit, not letting his anxiety show.

"Sir!" exclaimed his tactical officer, half jumping out of his seat even as Hux spotted the Star Destroyer in orbit through the front viewport at the exact same time. He’d been wrong. So very wrong.

The First Order was already there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how hard it is to not just write an entire fic of Leia and Hux bantering/arguing back and forth. No idea. Also, 10 points if you pick up on the Expanded Universe/Legends reference ehehehe.
> 
> And, as some of you may have noticed, the end is in sight! Just two more chapters after this one.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay! Turns out that moving when work is busy as hell doesn't leave much time for writing.

“Shields up!” Hux half shouted, “and bring all cannons online.”

Everyone on the bridge flew into action, spurred on by both the sight of a Star Destroyer and by the warning klaxon that sounded throughout the ship. No one had to be told to get to their battle stations. The _Adamant’s_ crew was impeccably trained.

Ben came sliding into the bridge a few minutes later. “What the hell is—”

Hux didn’t let him finish the question. “The First Order,” he snapped. “Your Force was right; they’re here.” He ignored the string of swear words that tumbled out of the Jedi’s mouth and turned back to the brewing battle before them, starting to pace from one end of the bridge to the other. “Tell Ivason that I wanted her pilots ready to launch two minutes ago. Amersu’s too.”

“Let me take a team down,” Ben asked intently, eyes following him back and forth.

“We already know they’re here. And I don’t have time for this right now!”

“This will take ten seconds!”

Hux ignored him, too focused on the Star Destroyer rapidly advancing on them. “I want a full scan of their Star Destroyer for later analysis. And I want confirmation of who commands that vessel!”

Ben reached out and grabbed his bicep, pulling him to an abrupt halt. “Let me take a team down and fight them on the ground,” he repeated quietly, their faces mere inches apart. “I’m no good to you up here.”

Hux stared into those dark eyes for a long moment before relenting. “Fine. Take your team. I can’t spare any X-wings to fly cover for you though.”

“We won’t need them,” Ben promised rashly before kissing him swiftly but firmly. “Thank you!” Before Hux could even begin to voice any indignation or a protest, he sprinted off the bridge.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Teravo mutter a curse and pass what he strongly suspected was a credit chip to Liselle who pocketed it without a word. That was something he’d have to deal with later. He had bigger problems for now. Namely the Star Destroyer and the dozens of TIE fighters streaming out of her belly. "Make them fire first but I want our fighters out there now!"

“We’re twenty seconds from launch still, sir,” one of the officers replied.

Hux curled his hands into fists at his sides, cracking both thumbs to try and prevent himself from snapping at someone who didn’t deserve it. The enemy ships were kind enough to begin firing upon them, freeing him from having to go through the motions of diplomacy. “Inform all squadrons leaders that they may fire at will.”

By all reckoning, the _Adamant_ was outmatched. The Mon Calamari built fine ships with plenty of weaponry but they were still nothing against an Imperial Star Destroyer. The full firepower of such a ship was certainly something to behold. Those parts of the Empire, Hux reluctantly admitted, had been smart ones for the First Order to hold on to. Where the New Republic did more than hold their own was with their starfighters. TIE fighters might have been faster but the shields on the New Republic’s X-Wings and A-Wings along with superior weaponry meant they were outclassed in every way. They just might, if Hux was smart about it, have a chance at winning this thing.

“Major?” Kalin stood before his terminal, brow furrowed as she read the data that streamed across it. “There’s something strange here.”

Hux’s frown matched hers as he joined her and scanned the screen. “What is it?”

“That’s the problem,” she said. “There’s nothing coming from Arkanis.”

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's literally nothing." Kalin gestured towards the communication streams. "There was an open line between the planet and the Star Destroyer when we first arrived but it cut off almost immediately and there's been nothing since despite both the First Order and us hailing them. It's odd."

Realization hit him. "They're waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"Waiting to see who wins," Hux clarified. "If I'm right, there's some politician down there who probably sympathizes with the First Order but isn't willing to throw it all away now that the New Republic is here. Send the data down to Solo's team. See what they can find."

~  
Even if they hadn't had Hux's report on the planet, pinpointing the former site of the Imperial Academy of Arkanis would have been easy. All they had to do were follow the TIE fighters. And then not get shot. If their shuttle hadn't been armed, Ben was 90% sure that they would've been dead before they reached the planet's surface. He was 100% sure that they definitely would be dead if the Force hadn’t been guiding him as he piloted them down. A hanger bay granted them temporary relief from the enemy and gave them enough time to regroup.

"You got a plan?" Ilinn Starfarer asked, checking the power level on her blaster rifle.

Ben frowned. "I thought you guys were the ones with plans."

"We had a plan for doing recon," Jeh clarified for his wife. "But this was your idea so it gets to be your plan."

Great. Maybe he should've thought this through before running to the bridge. Too late now though. "What was the recon plan?"

Ilinn shrugged. "Get to the records and control rooms first and then explore the rest of the building."

"Okay. Okay let's go with that then," Ben said, hefting his lightsaber hilt and taking comfort in the familiar weight. “Let me guess…I’m on point?”

“You say that like you wouldn’t be jumping up there the minute people start shooting at us,” Jeh teased, shifting his grip on his blaster. “Come on, we’ll cover you.”

The reprieve from their enemies didn't last long. One of the more tech-minded commandos had just started hacking into a terminal when a pair of stormtroopers stumbled into them. They were easy enough to take down but they were just the first of many. If Ben let the Jedi part of his brain take a nap, he could admit it to himself that it was fun. He hadn't been lying to Hux earlier. He was useless on a big ship. He was better as a weapon. By the time they reached the central records room, he wasn’t thinking anymore; he just acted. It was over almost before it began.

"I should recruit you, Solo," Ilinn said, hanging back while one of her tech specialists started hacking into the Academy's systems. "You make such a nice bright target."

"Thanks, Ilinn," Ben said dryly.

Her tone didn't have a drip of irony or humor. "No problem. You're also good in a fight."

"Thanks," he muttered again, trying to move out of the way of the commandos scurrying around to strip the dead stormtroopers of anything that might yield useful information. It seemed like everywhere he went was in the way. He settled for picking up a stormtrooper helmet and flipping it between his hands. He wondered what it felt like to basically live in one of those. Restricting and weird, probably. After a few minutes, Ben frowned as he felt a tug through the Force. "Something's not right," he said, staring down a corridor. "I'm going to check it out."

"You want back up?" Ilinn asked, nodding towards two of her commandos.

He shook his head. "No, this shouldn't take long."

Lightsaber hilt in hand, he began walking down the hallway, letting his feet decide which path to take anytime he came to a junction. The Force gave him just enough warning to spin 90 degrees and stop a blaster bolt in mid air along with the dark haired woman who’d fired it from an elegant hunting pistol. “A Jedi,” the woman said with a smile. “It’s not every day I get to meet one of you. Isn’t this just an honor?”

“Not really given that you’re trying to shoot me,” Ben replied back tersely, still concentrating on that blaster bolt. She shrugged unapologetically. “Who are you?” There was no response except for a smug little smile. With a thought and a wave of his hand, he sent the blaster bolt and her pistol flying in opposite directions. "Who. Are. You?"

Somehow, she managed to look haughty even while restrained mid-air. "I am this planet's Senator and you will release me and treat me with the respect that title deserves!"

Ben's eyes widened as he put the pieces together. "You... you're Carise Sindian."

" _Lady_ Carise Sindian."

"No," he countered, years of anger rising to the surface as he flicked his wrist so the invisible hand of the Force pressed her against the corridor wall. "My mother stripped you of your title when you ruined our lives!"

Her brown eyes narrowed. "Someone's inherited their grandfather's temper."

It took effort but he swallowed back a retort. “Why are you here?”

“Come now, Ben. Can I call you Ben?”

“No.”

“Lovely,” she said as if she’d heard a completely different answer. “Can you really not figure it out, Ben?”

"Maybe I want to hear it from you."

Her lips parted and then shut again as if she'd thought better of whatever she wanted to say. Instead, Carise sighed. "Can you at least set me down? This is uncomfortable."

"You tried to shoot me."

"And now you have my blaster." He didn't blink and so she sighed again. "It's not as if I'd get very far if I tried to run."

She had a point. Reluctantly, Ben lowered her to the ground again and crossed his arms. "So start talking."

For a minute, she ignored him, instead brushing at her skirts to straighten out invisible wrinkles. “What was your question again?”

“Why are you here?”

“It’s my homeworld.”

“Why are you here at the old Imperial Academy?”

Carise’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “That's a better question. I had a meeting.”

Ben gritted his teeth. "With who?"

"Oh just some friends," she said mildly, spinning one of her rings around. "Friends who can see that we need a change in the galaxy." He scoffed which quickly brought a frown to her face. "You think the New Republic is perfect then?"

He hesitated. "No. No but it's better than the Empire."

"The First Order is not the Empire," she corrected him. "The First Order will be _better_."

"Better at what?"

"Better at bringing order and function to a galaxy that has none."

Mouth hanging open, Ben stared at her. "You're completely insane."

“No, I’m reasonable,” Carise countered. “The First Order is better for the galaxy and for me. Why wouldn’t I want to help them?”

“Because it’s wrong!” No wonder Leia hated her. “Who’s your contact with the First Order?”

Pure innocence filled her expression. “Oh I don’t know any names.”

She didn’t even have time to blink before his lightsaber was at her throat. “Try again.”

“The name wouldn’t be of any use to you,” Carise said with a condescending politician’s smile. Ben had seen that sort of smile before; polite with a hint of thinking the other person’s an idiot. His mother’s was better.

“Try again,” he repeated, moving the lightsaber ever so slightly closer.

She stared at him for a long moment, obviously trying very hard not to flinch and failing. “Brendol Hux,” she finally said. “He ran this Academy for years before the Empire fell. Now,” she sidestepped away from the blade, “I have things to do. Can we stop pretending like you holding me captive is going to matter once the First Order captures this planet?”

Somehow, Ben managed not to laugh. “They’re not going to win.”

“We’ve planned this for months,” she snapped back. “You can’t beat Hux!”

It was hard not to laugh at the irony especially since he was pretty sure that his Hux was going to win. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.” He settled for grabbing his comlink to call for back up. Jeh and Ilinn’s people could take care of her until the battle above was over.

~

The younger Hux was growing increasingly frustrated with the battle above Arkanis. It wasn’t because they were losing; far from it. He’d managed to counter most of the opposing commander’s moves before they could inflict too much damage upon the _Adamant_. It was precisely that which was driving him insane. He recognized far too many of these tactics from his Academy days. Even back then, it had been clear that his destiny lay with commanding capitol cruisers and the First Order had ensured his education accordingly and by the First Order, he meant his father.

The important part was that they were still winning due in great part to the fast flying of their starfighters.

“Sir, their shields are weakening by their hanger.”

“Focus all of our fire power on that spot,” Hux ordered briskly.

Within minutes, it was over. The Star Destroyer’s shield gave and they jumped to hyperspace before the _Adamant_ could land more than a handful of damaging shots, abandoning what few TIE fighters they had left. Fists pressed against his console, his shoulders rounded forward in one part relief and one part frustration. Hux knew he should have felt pleased to have fought the First Order off but the victory still felt hollow. They’d escaped. Again. Two shuttles had also made their way through the raging battle back from the planet’s surface and into the Star Destroyer’s hanger bay and he had a sinking feeling that it meant they’d gotten what they’d come for even if they hadn’t taken Arkanis. That in turn made him wonder what had become of Ben’s team but there wasn’t much time to ponder because—

"Major, they're requesting to speak with you."

Hux didn't look up. "Lieutenant, handle that please."

The comm officer cleared his throat. "Sir, they're very insistent that it's you."

With a sigh, he straightened and nodded for the officer to send the call over. He barely waited for the screen to resolve before speaking. "This is Major Brendol Hux of the New Republic's _Adamant_. To whom am I speaking?"

"Lon Chaven, Arkanis's Chancellor," the man replied nervously. "We're grateful to the New Republic for your assistance with--"

"No."

The Chancellor stopped mid-word, clearly shocked. "What?"

"No," Hux repeated. "Please don't waste my time with lies, Chancellor."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Major."

"My ship picked up communications between Arkanis and the First Order's Star Destroyer as we arrived in system. Those ceased within minutes and there were no further communications from your planet despite the _Adamant's_ attempts to make contact. That implies you were waiting to see who won the battle before choosing a side."

Chaven swallowed hard and shrugged. "Can you blame us?" Hux merely stared. "Are you any relation to the Commandant Hux who used to run the Academy here?"

The corner of his mouth twitched down. "Yes."

"Oh."

Hux ignored all the implications of that simple word. "We'll be arriving in the capital city within the next two hours. I suggest you take that time to prepare your excuses for the New Republic. I'd hate to have to send a report of preliminary treason back to Hosnian Prime." He didn't give the Chancellor a chance to find words amongst his sputtering before terminating the connection. “Get me a status report from Solo’s ground team,” he ordered, not needing to look over to know Kalin was there. “And I want loss numbers on our starfighters.”

He was reviewing said numbers when Kalin interrupted him. “Jeh just sent up their field report. Minimal losses and they were able to retrieve a good amount of data from the Academy’s databanks and from the downed stormtroopers. Also, they’ve got a prisoner.”

“A stormtrooper?” Hux frowned.

She shook her head. “Solo says her name is Carise Sindian.”

“He captured Arkanis’s _Senator_?”

“Apparently.”

“This will undoubtedly be good,” he muttered under his breath. “Have the hanger bay prep a shuttle to go down to the planet. And have the Starfarer’s meet us in the city.”

When Ben told him the whole story once their groups met up planetside, Hux rapidly determined that his previous assessment of “good” was wildly inaccurate. “Let me see if I’m understanding this correctly,” he said through gritted teeth. “You captured Arkanis’s Senator and she informed you that she’s working with the First Order, specifically with my father?”

“That’s the short version, yeah,” Ben said, brushing away an errant lock of dark hair that kept flopping into his eyes. “Look, I know you’re not happy about your dad being here and all but—”

“That is not a concern at the moment,” Hux said, sharper than intended. “You captured their Senator.”

“She shot at me first!”

“That much is true,” Carise said from where she’d been unceremoniously shoved into a seat, hands restrained by binders before her. “I thought he was an enemy.”

“You can’t tell the difference between a Jedi and a stormtrooper?” Ben demanded.

She shrugged. “It was dark.” She turned her attention on Hux. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. You must be the Commandant’s son.” His expression didn’t waver from stone. “I’m Senator Carise Sindian.”

“I know who you are, Senator,” Hux replied. “And if you cooperate with the New Republic, they may be less inclined to execute you for treason.”

“Treason?” Carise’s dark eyes went wide. “What a ludicrous charge!”

Ben lunged forward and Hux wasn’t quite quick enough to pull him back. “You told me you were meeting with the First Order!”

“I did no such thing!” She smirked despite her innocent tone. “Do you have any witnesses who can confirm these ridiculous allegations?”

“I don’t need a witness; I’m a Jedi Knight!”

“No, you’re Leia Organa’s son,” Carise corrected primly. “The Senate knows that she and I are rivals—”

Ben sneered. “You’re not worthy enough of Mom’s attention to be her rival.”

“—and it’s very likely that you’re just a tool in her plot to discredit me.”

Hux had already grabbed for the younger man’s arm but still slid forward a few inches as Ben lunged angrily at her again. “Easy, Ben,” he said quietly. “We’ll deal with her. She’s trying to get you angry enough to discredit you.”

“Well it’s working,” Ben hissed back, still staring intently at her before he took a step back and relaxed a little.

Angling his body to try and block Ben’s line of sight at the Senator, Hux locked eyes with him. “Go let Kalin debrief you on the mission details. I’ll deal with her.”

Ben hesitated, clearly debating whether or not to obey the order before curtly nodding. “Fine,” he said, storming off.

“Your tame Jedi has a temper,” Carise remarked mildly. “Or perhaps he’s not so tame.”

Hux turned his attention back to her, ignoring the baiting comment. “Remind me, Senator: has the law on Arkanis regarding treason changed in the last few decades?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Not since the dawn of the Empire.”

“Good.” He shifted to stand at ease. “In which case, I recommend that you make yourself as helpful to your interrogators as possible. If you provide useful information then I may be able to put in a good word for you with the Chancellor to help you escape execution. If not, I’m sure Arkanisan justice will be served.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Can’t I?”

“I’m a member of one of the oldest and most noble houses on this planet and in this sector!”

“And yet House Chaven has no lost love for House Sindian. Your bloodline won’t protect you.” Hux spun sharply on his heel and walked off. “Consider your options carefully, Senator. You don’t have many before you.”

The Chancellor proved to be even easier to manipulate into submission than the Senator. Hux was bored within minutes. All he had to do was raise an eyebrow and put on the disdainful look he’d perfected over the years and Chaven had folded. It had been the head of planetary security who’d been in cahoots with Carise and the First Order and the Chancellor had just been convinced to play along once the Star Destroyer appeared. The security chief and a few other high-ranking officials were quickly ferreted out and dealt with over the course of the next few days.

Carise though… Carise was a different story. Somehow, despite Liselle’s best efforts, she wouldn’t crack. The woman was stronger than Hux had given her credit for. A frustrated Ben had been relegated to role of human lie detector because the Senator made it very clear that she’d claim any confession was purely the product of some Jedi mind trick. It was with near glee that Hux eventually delivered her to the Arkanisan justice department along with a sworn statement from Ben detailing her involvement with the First Order. Arkanis relied far less on the politically acceptable rules of a democracy and fair trials than the New Republic. She’d be lucky if she ever saw space ever again.

~

“So. Do you want to talk about it?” Ben asked, sprawled in a chair in his office when things finally began to settle down a few days later.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what topic you’re referring to but the answer is undoubtedly no,” Hux replied absently, focused on the report he was preparing for Tycho.

Ben’s expression was incredulous. “So you don’t want to talk about how your father was here and you beat him in a battle?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Seriously?”

“I always am.”

Ben moved so he was bent almost in half and leaning forward on Hux's desk so he could try and look him in the eye. “There is no way you don’t need to talk about this. You hate him way too much.”

Hux’s left palm connected solidly with Ben’s forehead and pushed him back. “I’m more concerned about finishing this report for Tycho and hoping that actually fighting one of their Star Destroyers will be considered enough proof. Now if you don’t mind…”

Sighing, he flopped down in the chair again. “Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got issues?”

“Not to my face.”

"Hey Hux: you've got family issues," Ben deadpanned.

Finally, Hux looked up from his datapad and matched his tone note for note. "Hey Solo: so do you."

Ben merely shrugged. "Yeah but yours beat mine right now."

"This is ridiculous," he protested exasperatedly. "Why are you bringing this up when I'm trying to work?"

"Because all you've done for the last three days is work and I haven't gotten to talk to you for more than a few minutes since before we got to Arkanis."

"As you may have noticed, we've been busy."

"And I've been able to feel how stressed you've been through the Force."

"I can't imagine why."

"Hux, come on."

Gritting his teeth, Hux leaned back in his chair and stared at the ridiculous man he'd accidentally gotten involved with who, at the moment, was doing his best impression of a well-meaning but trouble causing bantha. "Do you have any intention of leaving my office unless I discuss my unfortunate relation?" Ben shook his head. "Fine. I have no desire to ever be in the same star system as him ever again and I will admit to being disappointed that he didn't have the decency to die in the years since I left the First Order. I'm glad I beat the bastard and wish I could see his face when he realizes that his traitorous son is the one who dealt him a loss. Happy?"

Ben's expression stayed impassive for a long moment before it gave way to a grin. "It'll do. For now." He leaned forward and kissed him swiftly before heading towards the door. "We can talk more when you're done the report."

"And don't think I've forgotten about what you pulled on the bridge!" Hux yelled after him. Ben's only response was a mildly rude gesture before the door slid shut behind him. Logic and reason must have taken a vacation from his mind the day he fell for that man.

It was another day before Hux was able to finish his report on the battle above and on Arkanis to his satisfaction and send it off to Tycho. That was promptly followed by days filled with anxiety before Kalin finally tracked Hux and Ben down in the hallway one morning, the faintest hint of nerves in her eyes. “There’s a message for you in the secure room, sir.”

Hux raised an eyebrow. “Tycho?”

She hesitated. “I can’t read it but I think so. It has all the protocols.”

The two men exchanged quick looks before taking off for the communications room at a run, Ben easily outpacing Hux. He didn’t mind though because it meant that the Jedi had already gone through all the necessary security layers by the time he got there. The only thing left was to actually read the message.

“You ready for this?” Ben asked, finger hovering over the keys. Hux nodded and then both leaned forward to read the two short lines of glowing text.

_It’s enough. Come home._


	12. Chapter 12

Hux felt like a great weight had finally been taken off his shoulders as they made their way back to Hosnian Prime. For now, there was nothing to keep him occupied. There were no reports to prepare or any intelligence to analyze for the mission. The _Adamant_ was well on her path to recovery from the battle. The engineers and mechanics estimated that she’d be close to 90% by the time they reached base and that they could have her back to 100% once they got a few more parts there. He had nothing left to do.   
  
Somehow, Ben had figured all of this out almost immediately and dragged him into bed at the first opportune moment.   
  
“I’m still annoyed at you,” he grumbled afterwards as they both tried to catch their breath.  
  
"There is no way in hell you can be mad at me after that."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Ben shot him a weird look. “Fine. What I’d do now?”  
  
“You kissed me on the bridge.”  
  
“Oh. That.”  
  
“Yes. That.”  
  
He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Come on, it’s not like I planned it. It just seemed the right thing to do right then. And no one cares!”  
  
“Well it was inappropriate,” Hux huffed, “and apparently it settled a bet.”  
  
Ben snorted. "A bet? Between who?"  
  
"Teravo and Liselle."  
  
"What was the bet?"  
  
Hux sighed. "Whether or not we were involved."  
  
"How much did she win?"  
  
"I believe that Liselle's exact words were 'That was such an easy 50 credits that I almost felt bad taking his money.'" Hux frowned. “Stop laughing, you idiot.”  
  
He didn’t. “We’ve been sneaking around all this time and she’s probably known for months.”  
  
“Not helping.”  
  
“Still funny.” Ben finally got himself under control and rolled on to his side. “Why does it bother you so much?”  
  
“Because it’s unprofessional,” Hux answered grudgingly.  
  
“So you think it’s unprofessional to be in a relationship at all?”  
  
“Not necessarily, no.”  
  
“Good. So stop worrying,” Ben said briskly, pulling him closer and beginning to kiss a particularly sensitive spot on his neck, “and just be mine for the next few days.”  
  
“Yours?” Hux tried to sound disdainful as he arched an eyebrow, a feat made all the more difficult as he had to bite his tongue to stop from gasping.  
  
Ben smirked. “Mine,” he confirmed before climbing on top of him and putting a halt to any more conversation.   
  
~  
  
When they finally made it back to Hosnian Prime, Hux only took a small team with him, leaving Commander Barten in charge of both the ship and of arranging temporary leave from the _Adamant_. It was just the core group who went to see General Celchu.   
  
“I’ll be honest,” Tycho said after greetings had been exchanged. “I expected it to be a bit longer before we saw you back here.”  
  
“Perhaps you and Senator Organa should have come to check in on us sooner,” Hux replied. “It seems to have had a positive effect on the mission.”  
  
Ben frowned. “Where is my mother anyways?”  
  
“She’s been delayed by a committee meeting and certainly not pleased about it,” Tycho explained before nodding towards the dark haired woman lingered by his office door. “That’s why Greer is here.”  
  
“Think of me as a test flight for the Admirals,” Greer Sonnel said with a tight smile. She’d been introduced to them earlier as Leia’s Chief of Staff and also a damn good pilot. “And the Admirals as a test flight for the Senate. The Senator’s kept me mostly in the dark on this so I should be a good test subject.”  
  
Ben’s frowned deepened. “Even with the—”  
  
Greer’s warning frown cut him off. “Ben…”  
  
He threw his hands up in the air. “Why does everyone always say my name like that?”  
  
“Would you like the short list or the long?” Hux drawled. Ben rolled his eyes and retreated a few steps back, all but pouting as he leaned against the wall. “How long do we have before we brief the Admirals?”  
  
“Three days,” Tycho answered. “We’ve already prepared the bulk of the written report but someone from your team should look it over before it’s finalized.”  
  
Liselle instantly volunteered. “I’ll take that.”   
  
The general handed her a datapad and Ben pushed off the wall. “I can help.”  
  
“Me too,” Kalin said. Liselle flashed them both a quick smile of thanks and the trio took over the office’s lone couch.  
  
“I guess that leaves us to prep the verbal report,” Teravo said with a casual shrug. “You really think the Admirals are going to listen?”  
  
“The _Adamant_ has found a lot more than you realize,” Tycho said, “and I wouldn’t have pulled you back to Hosnian Prime if I didn’t think we had a fighting chance.”  
  
“Do we know who’s going to be on the board?” Hux asked. “Any hope of a sympathetic ear or two?”  
  
“Probably not.”  
  
“No.” The Senator strode in while Greer was speaking with a young woman who was presumably her aide two steps behind her. "And I'm almost certain that that little rat Kre'fey sent Wedge on an assignment to Chandrila just so he couldn't be on the Admirals' board."  
  
"Ma'am..." Greer said softly.  
  
Leia waved off her concerns. "Kre'fey's been very open about how little respect he has for me especially after everything that happened with Ransolm and the Napkin Bombing. He's a rat and he'll find his way on to the board just to spite me."  
  
Tycho politely hid a smile with one hand. "Horton Salm's another likely candidate and he's far less biased against you."  
  
A decisive snort showed exactly what the last Princess of Alderaan thought of that. Turning her attention to Hux, she crooked her finger towards him. He had no choice but to take several long steps forward until he was standing before her. "How comfortable are you with public speaking?"  
  
Hux's eyes widened. "I thought we were just briefing the three Admirals."  
  
"You are for now," Leia said, waving off his concern. "I’ll likely take the lead in front of the Senate. Answer the question though."  
  
He shrugged. "Relatively? I'm not terrible at it."  
  
The smile on her face was the same one that he'd long since learned was an indicator of trouble when on her son's face. "You're about to get a lot better. Consider these next few days a crash course in public speaking from what's left of the Royal House of Alderaan."  
  
Those next few days, Hux quickly realized, were going to be very long indeed. Break time was over.  
  
~  
  
His prediction had been spot on. When they weren’t busy prepping for the report to the Admirals’ Board, Hux was knee-deep in standard paperwork that always seemed to pop up at the end of a tour of duty. There were promotions to be processed, transfers to approve, and requisition forms to sign to name but a few. He only halted work for the evening once Ben bodily dragged him away and even then it was only to sleep for a few hours while curled up beside the younger man. If nothing else, at least he slept well.   
  
The morning of the briefing, Hux felt more nervous than he had since the first time the navy had seen fit to give him a solo command. This search had taken up almost a year of his life and forced him to think about his old life than he ever would have wished. They had to succeed today with the Admirals' Board and then again with the Senate. If they didn't, the First Order would soon be too strong to check before they swept a wave of destruction across the galaxy.   
  
"Stop fussing with your hair," Ben said from where he was sprawled on a comfortable chair. "And your uniform."  
  
"I am _not_ fussing," Hux insisted even while smoothing down the front of his uniform jacket. He rarely wore his dress uniform and it made him feel stiffer than usual which in turn added to his mood.  
  
"No one's going to care if one hair falls out of place."  
  
Glaring at him, Hux grabbed his datapad from the table, opting for the 'ignore' route. Before he could walk out the door, Ben sprang to his feet, grabbed Hux's wrist and pulled him back. Hux raised an eyebrow. “We're going to be late if we don't—” He didn't get any further before Ben took his face between his hands and kissed him. Almost automatically, Hux's hands went to the Jedi's hips, pulling him closer. "Ben, we have to..."  
  
"Yeah I know," Ben murmured in response, hands lingering. "Go convince a bunch of old sticks in the mud that you’re right and they’re wrong."  
  
"Encouraging."  
  
"Look, I'll still lo--"  
  
Abruptly, Hux pulled back and glared. "Don't you dare finish that sentence how I think you're going to right before the most important briefing of my life. I don't have the time for this."  
  
"All I was going to say was that I like the way your butt looks in those pants," Ben lied deftly, expression one of pure innocence.   
  
“You’re incorrigible!” Hux rolled his eyes as he pushed him away and through the door, Ben laughing to himself as he followed.  
  
Tycho was already waiting for them by the turbolift reserved for those headed to the command floors, dress uniform well pressed and his own datapad tucked under one arm. "Ready?"  
  
"Do we have a choice?" Hux asked dryly.  
  
"No."  
  
Ben folded his arms across his chest. "If you want Jedi back up..."  
  
Hux rolled his eyes. "You can't just swing your lightsaber at the Admirals and make them agree with you."  
  
"I don't do that all the time!" He was immediately met with two pairs of disbelieving blue eyes. "Okay I just do that a lot of the time but I paid attention to Mom's lessons too!"  
  
The corner of Tycho's mouth twitched up. "I think we'll be fine, Ben."  
  
"Okay." He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot for a moment. "Mom and I will be in her Senate office when you're done. The rest of the team too."  
  
Tycho nodded. "We'll meet you there. Korr already arranged to have security let us through."  
  
“Right so uhh… good luck?” Ben offered weakly. “May the Force be with you? I don’t think what I’m supposed to say before these things.”  
  
“We’ll take all the luck and all the help the Force is willing to give us," Tycho said dryly.   
  
Ben saluted with two fingers, a gesture that somehow managed to not look sarcastic. Exchanging glances, the two career military men turned to head towards the verbal battlefield before them. "Hey Hux." Hux glanced over his shoulder and raised an expectant eyebrow. "That dress uniform does look good on you." Ben was full out grinning before Hux could so much as open his mouth. "It'd look even better on my bedroom floor."   
  
Taking a deep breath, Hux held it for a moment before letting it out and turning to Tycho. "General, permission to conscript Jedi Organa Solo into the New Republic's Navy for the purposes of court martialing him?"  
  
Tycho just barely managed to avoid laughing. "Permission denied, Major."  
  
"Alas." Ben smirked, threw a purposefully sarcastic salute, and sauntered off. Hux shook his head as they stepped into the turbolift.  
  
"I'll do us both a favor and not ask any questions about what just happened," Tycho said mildly as the lift shot upwards.  
  
"You have no idea how much I appreciate that, sir," Hux replied earnestly.  
  
"I may have an inkling."  
  
Oddly enough, the Solo brat’s antics seemed to make him breath just a little bit easier. A little bit of the tension eased out of his shoulders or perhaps that was Ben using the Force again. Either way, Hux wasn’t objecting.   
  
The planning team’s guesses as to who would be on the board that day had been spot on. Admirals Kre’fey and Salm both sat behind the raised table and their trio was rounded out by Admiral Pella D’iken.  
  
“General Celchu, Major Hux,” Admiral Salm greeted them after they exchanged sharp salutes.  
  
Tycho nodded gravely. “Admirals.” Hux said nothing.  
  
“This is all very unusual, “ Admiral D’iken said, waving her datapad in their direction. “I wouldn’t have expected something this from you., Tycho”  
  
The Alderaanian shrugged. “You can take the pilot out of Rogue Squadron…” Salm snorted with amusement. “If you’ll look at your datapads, a full written report is available to you to read at your leisure but I’d like to have Major Hux brief some of the highlights to you as the gravity of this situation cannot be emphasized enough.”  
  
D’iken raised an eyebrow. “And does it justify your decision to allow this very unorthodox mission to go on for months?”  
  
Tycho’s tone never wavered and neither did his voice. Hux admired that. “The authorization of this mission was a joint decision between myself and Senator Leia Organa. We both thought it worth the risk and the resources and I believe that you will agree once we present the _Adamant’s_ findings.” He turned towards Hux. “Major? If you would.”  
  
Clearing his throat, Hux took half a step forward and lifted his chin. “Admirals, we have definitive proof that the First Order, the group you once knew as the Imperial Remnant, is a genuine threat to the safety and security of the New Republic.”  
  
“You were born in the First Order, correct?” Kre’fey interrupted him.  
  
Hux’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “No, I was born on Arkanis during the last years of the Empire but I was raised in First Order territory and defected.”   
  
The bothan had no further queries along that line of questioning. For now.  
  
Hux wasn’t sure how much time passed as he laid out all of the evidence of the First Order threat from their encounters with the Knights of Ren to their skirmish on Dathomir to the very recent Battle of Arkanis. He kept their attention throughout partially thanks to the content of his report and partially thanks to Leia’s oratory training. The Admirals asked the occasional clarifying question, all of which either Hux or Tycho could answer with ease.   
  
“After Arkanis, there is no doubt in my mind or in any of my crew’s that the First Order is planning a move against the New Republic,” Hux concluded. “It may happen this month or in two years but they are coming and they will not spontaneously decide to deviate from that course of action. The First Order must be dealt with now before they can grow any stronger.”  
  
In the silence that followed, the three Admirals exchanged glances. Hux didn’t flinch. “Give us a moment to confer,” D’iken said.  
  
Hux acknowledged the request with a nod and stepped back. The Admirals bunched together, conferring too quietly to be overheard.   
  
“Well done, son,” Tycho said softly, clapping him on the shoulder.   
  
“Thank you,” Hux replied tightly, eyes never leaving the board. “Do you think it worked?”  
  
He answered honestly, “I don’t know but there’s not anything else we could have done.”  
  
“We could’ve found their base.”  
  
“And the Emperor’s initial rise to power could have been halted,” Tycho said. “Don’t work in hypotheticals. We’ve presented the best case that we could.”  
  
The Admirals returned to their seats and both Tycho and Hux dropped their own conversation, stepping forward again. Kre’fey cleared his throat, clearly intending to speak for all three of them. "Let me start by acknowledging all of the work put into this investigation. Clearly everyone aboard the _Adamant_ was committed and served admirably. However, while this board appreciates the thoroughness of your report and also your conviction, we find no proof that this First Order is the threat that you claim."  
  
"Did you actually listen to our report, Admiral?" Hux asked tersely, ignoring the raised eyebrows. "They’ve been actively recruiting along the Outer Rim, including Force users. They have capital ships: new Star Destroyers larger than the original Imperial-class designs. The Supreme Leader did not have those built on a whim. Those are not the actions of a peaceful state."  
  
"They are a small group of radicals," Kre'fey said dismissively. "Nothing the New Republic needs to worry about. Your little unauthorized mission doesn't change that."  
  
Hux's hands curled into fists behind his back. " _Unauthorized_? I believe that Senator Organa would beg to differ."  
  
The bothan all but rolled his eyes. "The Princess has been telling anyone who will listen that the Empire will return for years. She's not content with peace and wants to be a hero again."  
  
"It's not in an Alderaanian's nature to warmonger," Tycho said calmly, the narrowing of his eyes the only visible sign that he was angry.  
  
"And what about for the daughter of Darth Vader?"  
  
Salm cleared his throat hurriedly, trying to intervene before either officer before them could say something rash. "We're not here to debate the history of Leia Organa for whom this board has the utmost respect."  
  
"But not enough to believe her," Hux said bluntly. "Or any of the proof before your damn eyes."  
  
Salm narrowed his eyes. "Major, you are dangerously close to insubordination."  
  
His lips curled into a sneer. "Am I?" Tycho placed a restraining hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off. "Perhaps I'm not being clear enough if I’m only close. Insubordination isn't something I've had much experience with. I've been otherwise occupied with serving this Republic and alerting her to the impending danger from the Unknown Regions."  
  
"We've demoted officers for less," Admiral D'iken said mildly.   
  
Tycho leaned forward before Hux could respond. "Admirals, I've served with all of you for a very long time, some of you since the Rebellion. We wouldn't put this before you if I didn't truly believe that the First Order is a threat to the very peace and stability we all fought for decades ago. I ask that you review the data again and reconsider."  
  
"Our decision is final," Salm said. "Until we see more proof, we won't chase ghosts."  
  
There were very few moments in Hux's life where he had acted impulsively but this was one of them. Deliberately, he yanked off his rank insignia, unbuckled his service blaster, and tossed both on to the table. "Consider this my resignation then."  
  
D'iken frowned. "Major, don't be foolish. You're throwing away your command and ten years in the fleet."  
  
"Foolish would be continuing to fight for a government that remains willfully blind to a threat." Hux spun around sharply, deliberately, and walked out the door. “Don’t bother calling when the First Order is in orbit around Hosnian Prime. I’ll already be on the front lines.”  
  
~  
  
“Hey how did i—thaaaaat is not a good look,” Ben said as he let them into Leia’s office.   
  
Greer raised both eyebrows at them. “It didn’t go well?”  
  
“Not really, no,” Tycho replied as he dropped into a waiting chair. He glanced up at Hux who remained on his feet. “We can fix your commission, if you want, Hux. It’ll take some quick maneuvering but you don’t have to give up the uniform.”  
  
It was Kalin who fixed him with a stern yet worried look. “Major. What happened?”  
  
“They were rude and insulting and I let them know precisely what I thought of their idiotic conclusions,” Hux spat out angrily, still spun up despite having had half an hour to calm down during the walk over. Gritting his teeth, he turned towards his officers. “Captain Teravo, you may want to return to the _Adamant_ ; she’s yours to command now. Temporarily at least. I'd recommend you for permanent command but my word doesn't appear to be worth much anymore.”  
  
The mirialan started. “Look, Hux, I know I’ve joked about getting her as my ship before but—”  
  
“They don’t let non-military personnel command capital ships,” Hux said bitterly, gesturing towards where his rank patch had once been. “You should go, Ele. Kalin, you too. No reason for you two to risk your careers simply because I saw fit to let mine explode upon impact.”  
  
Teravo looked like he was going to object again but Kalin quickly elbowed him in the ribs. Korr Sella jumped to her feet and said quietly, “I’ll show you both the way out.”  
  
No one said anything for a solid half minute after the door shut behind them. Hux found his way to a chair, head still spinning from everything. He was an idiot, an absolute idiot. What kind of reasonable person torpedoed his own career like that? He’d just spent almost a year of his life trying to hunt down the First Order and now he had nothing to show for it besides a report full of proof that wasn’t quite convincing enough to be useful. He supposed that he could also add failure to his list of accomplishments. Faintly, he registered Leia asking Tycho for more details on what had happened but he couldn’t focus long enough to listen. In less than a minute, he had destroyed his entire life and now he had nothing. He was nothing.  
  
“Here.” A glass with two fingers of Corellian brandy found its way into his hand. “Drink this.” Hux knocked it back like it was a shot in some shady backwater bar. Ben sent the glass away with a flick of his fingers and looked up from where he knelt beside him. “What happened?”  
  
“I messed up,” Hux said in a monotone. “I couldn’t convince them that the First Order was a threat and then I lost my temper and resigned my commission in protest. Ben, my entire life—”  
  
“—isn’t the military anymore,” Ben cut him off. "It hasn't been for a while now."  
  
Hux raised his gaze from the floor to look in to those far too earnest brown eyes. "We still failed. I failed. What am I supposed to do now?"  
  
"Join the Resistance."  
  
Hux looked up a little further to meet Leia’s eyes. “What?”  
  
“Join the Resistance,” she repeated. Somehow, Hux still couldn’t manage a response besides gaping soundlessly at her. She smiled slyly. “What? You thought your mission was my only move against the First Order?”  
  
“I underestimated you,” Hux admitted, rising to his feet and offering Ben a hand up without looking. “I won’t make that mistake again.”  
  
“You’re not the first and you won’t be the last,” Leia said in a no-nonsense tone. "If you don't want to walk back your resignation then fight the First Order with us. We can always use another good officer especially when they have your expertise.”  
  
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Even now everything that happens to me is still because of First Order.”  
  
He was surprised when she smacked him on the shoulder. “Leave the self pity for another day, Hux, and focus that anger against the First Order again. If you want to, of course.”  
  
Feeling appropriately scolded, Hux straightened. “Being a soldier’s still the only thing I’m any good for so if the Resistance will have me, I’m happy to serve, ma’am.”  
  
“Didn’t we already talk about you calling me ma’am?”  
  
“Senator.”  
  
Ben snorted with laughter despite the narrowed eyes Leia sent his way. “You’ve no intention of just using my name, do you?” Hux shook his head. “Well if you’re joining the Resistance, Senator won’t really be appropriate there either.”  
  
“Didn’t they decide to make you a general?” Tycho asked innocently.  
  
“You’re not helping, Tycho.”  
  
“My apologies, Princess.”  
  
Hands on her hips, Leia glared at him as her son kept laughing. “Yes, they’ve decided to make me a General. The perils of starting a new rebellion; they slap a rank on you. Use that rank if you must, Hux.”  
  
“Yes General.”  
  
She smiled. “Better. I’ll have Korr send you all of the details once she gets back.”  
  
“See?” Ben sidled up and nudged him in the ribs. “It’ll be fine. You worry too much.”  
  
“You don’t worry enough,” Hux muttered even as he realized that Ben might have a fraction of a point. He’d thrown away over a decade of his life but at least he had a new cause to fight for.  
  
Everything that happened after that was a blur. Tycho had the unenviable task of escorting him back to the base to finish the paperwork part of his abrupt resignation. After the way he’d resigned, he was lucky the navy even let him address the crew of the _Adamant_ one last time.   
  
There had been more than a few shocked faces in the corridors of his former command as Hux had made his way to the bridge one final time. Rumors of his resignation had already rapidly spread but clearly not fast enough for everyone to know. Standing before his crew in civilian clothes felt odd but none of their faces betrayed any less respect than before. He cleared his throat uncomfortably as all eyes were on him. “I won’t waste anyone’s time with pointless pleasantries as I know that all of you are eager to get to your shore leave so yes, the rumors are true. I’ve resigned my commission in protest of the Admirals’ decision to ignore the evidence of the First Order threat we put before them. My resignation is not a reflection on the efforts of any of you. You've all served with distinction over this last year on a mission that hasn't been easy. I promise that all of my commendations and service notes were filed before I briefed the Admirals with General Celchu and I’ve been assured that they will be processed.” Hux swallowed hard, the words trickier to get out then he had expected. “It’s been an honor to serve with all of you.”  
  
He refused to acknowledge any of emotions brewing within him as the _Adamant’s_ crew saluted one last time and he returned it. “Come on,” Teravo said quietly, “we’ll walk you to the hanger bay.”  
  
Hux appreciated the few minutes’ walk that gave him a chance to compose himself even as he began questioning whether he’d made the right decision. It was too late to be second guessing himself now. “Take care of my ship, Ele,” he said once they reached the shuttle. “She deserves the best.”  
  
“Leave it to you to get sentimental about a ship,” Teravo said with a grin as they shook hands. “She’ll be in good hands if they give her to me.”  
  
Reluctantly, Hux turned to face Kalin who seemed to be struggling to keep a neutral expression too. “You’re one of the smartest people I know,” he said, shaking her hand. “I regret that I won’t be here to see you eventually get the command that you deserve. The New Republic would be stupid not to.”  
  
“They’re stupid for not listening to your report,” Kalin replied with a little shake of her head.  
  
“Yes… well…” Teravo cleared his throat meaningfully and nodded towards Hux’s pocket. “Oh! I almost forgot.” Hux pulled out the brand new rank patch and extended it towards her. “This was officially one of the last things I was able to do before completely losing my grasp on sanity. Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander Werth.”  
  
Eyes wide, she took the patch from him before saluting sharply which he returned. “Thank you, Major. I don’t know what to—” Impulsively, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly.   
  
Hux didn’t even have to think about whether to return the embrace. “Take care of yourself, Kalin.”  
  
“I’m not considering this a goodbye,” Kalin replied quietly. “You never know when our paths will cross again.”  
  
“Don’t do anything impetuous,” he said, pulling back a little.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. “Like resigning my commission?”  
  
“Point taken.” Reminded again of the sister he’d left behind, he kissed her lightly on the cheek before stepping back. Hux couldn’t even try and lie to himself—he was going to miss this crew and he was especially going to miss Kalin Werth and Ele Teravo. They were good people and you didn't find their like just anywhere. Be like stone, he reminded himself the entire flight back down to the surface. He refused to let any of those who had ever worked against him get any satisfaction from his departure.   
  
He had no regrets about leaving everything behind to join the Resistance. He just wished he’d managed it with a little more dignity.  
  
And now here he was, somewhere in the middle of Hosnian Prime, standing at the door of an apartment in a building that was likely painfully far out of the reach of his soldier's salary back when he actually had a salary.   
  
Hux couldn’t stop pulling at the collar of his shirt. It wasn’t that it was tight or restricting—that was something he was used to. Rather, it felt strange to not be wearing a military uniform and to not even have one in his possession. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t let you keep the uniforms when you dramatically resigned your commission and stormed out. They also didn’t let you keep your quarters on base or on the ship you’d formerly commanded. It was all a very uncomfortable reminder of how little a life he had once had outside of the New Republic’s navy. Emphasis on the ‘once had.’ And now here he was: a soldier without an army and a man (temporarily) without any responsibilities for the very first time in his life. He didn’t like it.   
  
Shifting his duffle to the other shoulder, he knocked on the metal apartment door before him. It only took a few seconds before it hissed open.  
  
“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Ben said with a straight face, pointing his finger at him like a blaster.  
  
Hux arched an eyebrow. “I’m your boyfriend now?”  
  
Ben crossed his arms and leaned casually against the doorjamb. “We’ve been sleeping together exclusively for months now unless you somehow found time to kriff some cute Lieutenant on the side when you barely had time to sleep. And you’ve even met my mother and she approves of you. Oh. And now you’re standing at my door with what I’m pretty sure are all your galactic possessions in that bag and with nowhere else to go. So yeah. Boyfriend.”  
  
“Fair points,” Hux conceded.   
  
It was Ben’s turn to raise an eyebrow as he looked at the duffle on his shoulder. “Is that really everything you own?”   
  
The red head nodded. “I left the First Order with less than this and I’ve been in the New Republic’s military ever since I got here. They’ve provided my uniforms and housing ever since. Never saw the need to buy extraneous things.”  
  
He groaned, stepping to one side and gesturing for him to come inside. “Don’t let Mom’s aide hear you say that or else she’ll find a reason to take you shopping so you have more than two shirts.”  
  
“I have three,” Hux muttered under his breath, dropping the duffle bag once he crossed the threshold.   
  
He barely had a chance to straighten before Ben pulled him into a kiss, laughing. “You have got to lose that stick up your ass, babe.”  
  
“They’re standard issue for officers,” he deadpanned.  
  
“Well you,” Ben countered, dropping another kiss to the corner of his mouth, “are not in the military anymore.”  
  
“For the rest of today.”  
  
“The Resistance will still be there next week.”  
  
“I told the General that I’d leave tomorrow to head to her base.”  
  
“Fine, so I’ll comm Mom and tell her you’ll go in a week or two instead. You deserve a vacation after this last tour. We both deserve a vacation.”   
  
“Ben, that’s not how this—”  
  
“What’s the point of sleeping with the son of the leader of the Resistance if you don’t take advantage of the perks?”  
  
“Usually it’s the sex.”  
  
“Okay so there's two good reasons then.”  
  
Hux sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “There’s a war coming and we both know it. We can’t just will it not to or else that makes us as bad as the New Republic.”  
  
“And we’re not going to win it by ourselves either,” Ben countered, hands resting on Hux’s hips. “Take a break for the first time in your life while you still can. We both know it won’t make a difference if you join the Resistance tomorrow or in a month.”  
  
With those words, Hux felt his resistance to the idea flee and he linked his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “When did you start being the logical one?”  
  
Ben smirked. “About ten minutes ago.”  
  
“I don’t like it,” Hux declared, leaning up and letting himself fall into another kiss. Ben’s strong arms wrapped around him, pulling their bodies flush together as he backed them through the living room and towards another door that he knew lead to the bedroom. “Fine. War can wait.”  
  
“Glad you’re finally seeing things my way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. And here we are at the end of the first story. Truth be told, this is the first long, multi-chaptered fanfic I've ever finished and I'd like to thank the Kylux fandom for being so wonderful and inspiring and welcoming and helping me do that. 
> 
> A sincere thank you to everyone who stuck with it and kept reading even when chapters were super delayed. An even bigger thank you to everyone who ever commented and especially to those of you who commented chapter after chapter. The last few months have been rough for me and reading your comments always brought a smile to my face. You guys are the best and I still can't believe that you liked my little foray into light side trash. So again. Thank you. I love you all <3
> 
> The next story won't start for at least a few weeks since I'll be at Dragon Con next weekend and I haven't gotten the plot figured out yet. (PS: If you're at Dragon Con, say hi! I'll be moderating the Star Wars Costuming and the New Characters We Already Love panels and also sitting on the Rebels panel for the Star Wars track!) And regardless, please say hi over on tumblr where I'm chaosbria!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Some Spies on the Inside](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11384799) by [codenametargeter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/codenametargeter/pseuds/codenametargeter)




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